Gardening Can Help Heal Your Heart

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Stay Healthy While Getting a Gardening Workout

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Gardening is great exercise. “It’s graduated, with an amount of aerobic exercise and strength training,” says Jane Potter, M.D., of the University of Nebraska Medical Center in Omaha. “Plus, you are stretching and moving. It is the ideal combination.” Like most forms of exercise, it tends to improve a person’s mood and stimulate the brain to think more clearly, she says.

"A lot of us hate exercise, but getting exercise while doing something rewarding is something else,” Potter says. She offers these health tips.

• Drink plenty of water. Hydration is key for any outdoor activity. It’s important to drink plenty of water before and after gardening. Early morning or late afternoon is the best time to garden because temperatures are coolest then.
• Always warm up. Digging, watering, and raking are all activities that involve multiple muscles. Before doing any yard work, gardeners should stretch to make sure they don’t damage muscles or ligaments.
• Take frequent breaks. When engaged in a truly enjoyable activity, it’s common to lose track of time. Gardeners should watch the clock to ensure that they take frequent breaks to rest and hydrate.
• Use sunscreen. Protect skin by wearing a sunscreen with an SPF of at least 15. It’s also wise to wear a hat and to cover exposed skin with protective clothing, which helps shield skin from bug bites and scrapes as well.