Harris Poll did a survey for the National Association of Landscape Professionals. It polled more than 2,000 adults and found that 75% of Americans believe it’s important to spend time in their yards. Having a yard at all is important to 83% of people in the United States, and 90% of those who have a yard believe it’s important to keep it maintained with good care and landscaping. The average American homeowner is spending about four hours a week in the lawn taking care of it, and here are four really important reasons you should be one of them.
- Working in the yard and among green things is great therapy for stress. The chemicals released by trees, vegetation, and even cut grass make humans feel relaxed. They help to regulate the areas of the brain that control human emotion and memory and reduce the effects of chronic stress.
- Working on the landscaping helps relieve your mind We can only spend so much time staring at cell phones and doing other tasks that require high concentration and constant shifts in our thinking. When we’ve paid all the attention we’re capable of paying to all those things, we get attention fatigue and become irritable and prone to make mistakes. One of the best antidotes to this is to go outside, return to a more natural and primal state, and do something useful but relaxing.
- Landscaping projects can be good exercise. While you might not be dashing about the lawn like you would in the gym, working the garden, improving your home’s curb appeal, putting up fencing, or just doing lawn care or mulching can help keep you limber, and doing tasks that require stretching and a bit of strength are good for the body.
- Your garden can be really good for your nutritional health, as well. Studies show that people who grow their own food tend to eat a lot more healthily than others. Even kids who garden are far more likely to be eating fruit and vegetables than their counterparts who never get off the electronic devices. If you’ve put the time and energy into making a garden and tending it, you’re far more likely to eat and enjoy the fruits of that labor than anything you buy at the grocery store.
- A landscaping project can benefit your mental health and self-esteem.
Nothing is better for our mental health than that feeling of gratification and achievement that comes with finishing a project. One of the benefits of working outdoors on your landscaping project is that you can set small goals for each week. As you hit them, you get a satisfying hit of hormones that reward you for having succeeded at something.
There are a lot of great reasons to work in your yard, from improving curb appeal, to adding value to your home, to relaxing and detoxing from work and the stresses of life. If you are not sure the best place to start, contact landscape architects in your area who can advise you on what works in your space, and help you design and carry through projects that will benefit you in every way.
