Green Space and Your Health

There are obvious benefits for taking care of your lawn. Your neighborhood association may require you to keep it to a certain standard or you might be trying to sell your house. Maybe you like to impress your guests or having a beautiful lawn makes your proud. Maybe you know that there is a correlation between your green space and your health.

Research shows there are many positive effects of spending time outside in green spaces.

Here’s a Few Examples on How:

Mental Acuity

Could spending time outside and simply enjoying the beauty of your surrounding actually make you smarter? I’m sure you’re thinking, you couldn’t possibly get any smarter, but you research is working against that theory. According to the University of Washington, experiencing nature will improve work performance in adults and aids cognitive development in children.

Physical Health

Everyone has a story behind a scar from their childhood, and as we get older the rate at which we heal may slow down a little bit. The good news is, Harvard Medical School has conducted research that states natural light can increase levels of Vitamin D, but also evidence suggests it helps you heal from injuries faster. In a study done at the University of Pittsburgh, some spinal surgery patients “experienced less pain and stress and took fewer pain medications, if they were exposed to natural light.”

Emotional Health

Having some levels of stress and anxiety is common, but I’m sure you’ve guessed by  now that working on your lawn or landscaping can help with that! The National Recreation and Park Association reports that being outdoors alleviates stress, anxiety and depression. Some studies have concluded that people living in green areas of lower rates of anxiety. One long-term study shows people who volunteer for environmental organizations have lower rates of depression twenty years later.

Working on your green space is working on your health, the health of your neighbors and anyone who passes by your home. In taking care of your environment, you’re boosting community morale.  What better reason do you need to pick up those hedge trimmer, or the phone to call us!