As the weather improves and days become longer, it is time once again to get your garden ready so that you can enjoy the benefits of spending time outdoors. With the right garden furniture, you can bring your family and friends together to strengthen bonds, exercise your body, or simply relax and enjoy the free aromatherapy created by blooming flowers, blossom, or freshly cut grass.
Recent events have encouraged most of us to reevaluate the way we live and work. There is no better place to do this than in your garden, where you can begin to value more important things in life. Whether you share your time eating with others on an outdoor dining set or relax with one special person on a loveseat or coffee table and wooden garden chairs, you can shrug off societal pressures, be calm and relaxed, restore your focus, and boost your creativity.
Here we take a look at both the mental and physical benefits of being outdoors. And rest assured, we highlight some surprising facts and benefits that we are sure you never knew.
The Mental Benefits Of Being Outdoors
Carrying out various garden duties can help you build your self-esteem and confidence. By learning how to plant and nurture flowers and vegetables, you get a great sense of achievement and will also realise that you can master any task or challenge.
Being outdoors reduces stress, anxiety, and depression. If you suffer from SAD (Seasonal Affective Disorder), then grab a blanket or put on your warmest clothes and spend time on your garden furniture, proven to reduce symptoms even on the most overcast of days.
If you have undergone surgery recently, you may also be interested in knowing that spending time on your garden furniture absorbing sunlight lowers stress and pain, reducing your consumption of pain medication.
Improvements To Your Physical Wellbeing
Simply spending time outdoors on your garden furniture increase your exposure to sunlight, which gives your body a healthy dose of vitamin D. Vitamin D increases your calcium levels, benefiting your immune system and bones, preventing osteoporosis, and reducing inflammation.
Just as gardening is excellent for your mental health, it will give your physical wellbeing a boost. Whether you are digging, planting, weeding, or maintaining your garden furniture, you are strengthening your heart and cardiovascular system and burning calories.
We know when you think of exercise, you probably imagine running or yoga. Still, when you consider that digging releases healthy bacteria (M. vaccae) from the soil that increases your serotonin levels and reduces anxiety, you may be persuaded to reach for the spade or trowel instead of your dumbbells.
If you have kids, then the happiness of enjoying time outdoors relaxing on good quality childrens picnic tables can be complemented with exposure to dirt and soil. Research shows that dirt exposure in children reduces the likelihood of developing allergies and autoimmune diseases.
If you decide to grow your own vegetables, then you will be able to include them as the main attraction when you dine with your family or friends on your outdoor dining sets. Fresh fruit and vegetables are packed with healthy vitamins and nutrients, and you know that they are safe and haven’t been treated with pesticides.
To renovate your outdoor space to capitalise on the benefits discussed, check out our range of high-quality garden furniture or contact a member of our team today.