Dr. Carole Myers
Welcome to Health Connections, the show about people, health, and policy. I'm Dr. Carole Myers. Time spent in the garden provides benefits for both mental and physical health. Today, I'm joined by John Tullock to discuss growing good health. John has written more than 15 how-to books, and he blogs regularly about food gardening and sustainable living. He's a self-employed sustainable technology consultant with clients in the United States and Italy. Tullock is an avid gardener. I'm so glad you're here today, John.
John Tullock
Well, it's wonderful to be here, Carol.
John, I went through some of your work and I saw the word flow when you were discussing benefits of gardening. What is flow?
Flow is a state of mind or condition that is similar to what we experience when we meditate. I think of it, as far as the garden is concerned, in connection with weeding, because it's an activity that you can do without really thinking too much about the activity. You can let your mind wander, and before long you're in this flow state, if you will, that helps to take your mind off of the ordinary trivial cares that we all have to deal with.
Wonderful! I love the idea. What is another way or other ways that gardening facilitates better health?
One of the main aspects is that gardening brings us much closer to nature. I would think that psychologists would agree with me that experiencing nature is excellent for us. We can get away from the office, spend some time among plants, trees, wildlife. And this gives us improved feelings of well-being, can alleviate depression. There was a global meta-analysis published not long ago that confirmed that there is a significant and robust reduction in clinical depression and anxiety severity among individuals who garden regularly.
Wow, that's great news! And I'll think about that as I'm weeding.
Yes, take out your frustrations on those plants.
John. We've touched so far on the individual benefits of gardening, but I also read in your work some other benefits that go beyond the individual. Could you please talk about that?
There is research, for example, Michigan State University tracked community garden participants, and the study showed that communal gardening directly enhances social well-being and life satisfaction. So, participating in community gardening activities enhances the beneficial effects for individuals that we have just been discussing. Gardening can bring people together at a time when we may be worried that our lives have become more disjointed and separate from others.
So we can talk about communal gardens, or we have a common interest. We met last at the Tuckaleechee Garden Club that garden clubs would be a good vehicle, also.
Absolutely. Garden clubs, community gardens, bringing people together with that common goal. Whether it's even just to discuss. You don't actually have to garden together. You can get together and talk about it, and has a lot of benefits.
Any parting words, John?
Keep gardening. The number of things that are good about gardening is one of the reasons that I have spent many, many years trying to share the pleasure of gardening with as many people as I possibly can.
This is Dr. Carol Myers, joined today by John Tullock. Thank you for listening to Health Connections. All past episodes are available at WUOT.org for on-demand listening. And listeners, your questions and comments are always welcome.
