The next time you feel overwhelmed to the point of becoming paralyzed, take a deep breath, then pick up your spade and head out to your garden. Yard work promotes stress relief in numerous ways, with multiple well-documented benefits for your body and mind. It’s also a positive, nurturing activity that benefits your community and planet Earth. Here’s what you need to know to inspire you to use your hoe.
The Physical and Mental Health Benefits of Yard Work
Yard work offers an impressive array of physical and mental health benefits. It qualifies as moderate exercise, letting you get a workout in. Raking leaves and hoeing the soil elevates your heart rate, providing cardiovascular benefits. Getting your ticker pumping reduces your heart disease risk.
Heart disease remains the No. 1 killer of men and women worldwide. Your ticker was designed to work hard on occasion, which is one reason why modern stress is so deadly. Bills and deadlines often make you work longer and harder, but it’s usually not physical labor. As a result, your body produces the same stress hormones that once helped it flee hungry lions. However, now, they have nowhere to go when your job involves sitting at a desk.
High adrenaline and cortisol levels from chronic stress can damage heart tissue. Yard work dissipates these hormones like nature intended while providing a moderate workout. However, that’s not the only perk to getting your ticker going by raking and hoeing. Exercise may also boost immunity by raising your body temperature to kill germs and promoting changes in your white blood cells, which are responsible for fighting infectious diseases.
Your body and mind share an intimate connection. You cannot divorce the two. Your levels of stress hormones impact various parts of your body and also influence your neurotransmitters — brain chemicals affecting your mood and mindset. For example, chronic stress can decrease serotonin levels, and a deficiency in this neurotransmitter can spur depression.
Stress affects everyone, but how you deal with it in part determines your risk of long-term health problems resulting from it. Finding a positive outlet, such as yard work, helps in two ways. It addresses your immediate situation and promotes clear thinking, helping you avoid unwise decisions that can lead to future tensions.
How Yard Work Eases Stress
When stress weighs you down, you have several options:
- You can bottle your feelings up and try to “push through.” However, doing so significantly increases your risk of various diseases, including heart disease.
- You can shut down and take the “ostrich with its head in the sand” approach. However, doing so doesn’t resolve whatever’s causing your stress. Your tension skyrockets when reality inevitably interrupts your attempts at avoidance.
- You can try to eliminate the source of your stress, which is often the best approach. However, doing so without considering the ramifications of your actions can bring unwanted consequences, spurring further panic. For example, rage-quitting a stressful job can leave you without an income source and hurt your family’s finances. Jumping at the first job that comes after can leave you in an even unhappier situation.
Your best bet is to mindfully tackle the problem with a clear head. Here’s a little secret, though. Even though this approach to stressful situations works best, it’s nearly impossible to think clearly when pesky stress hormones kick your body into fight-or-flight mode.
What you need is a method of calming your physiological tempest and clearing your head. Since Mother Nature designed these hormones to give you an energy boost, using physical activity, such as yard work, to mitigate adrenaline and cortisol makes sense. However, that’s not the only reason this activity is particularly effective for stress relief.
Yard Work Gets You Outside
Another reason yard work works so well for stress relief is that it gets you outside. Modern humans spend most of their waking hours inside, even though countless studies have explored the mental health benefits of being outdoors.
- One 2024 study from Quebec on 10- to 12-year-olds with significant mental health difficulties found that two hours of class time in a natural environment, as opposed to an indoor one, decreased emotional disturbances, especially among those children who struggled the most.
- A 2022 study on birdsongs, which you experience plenty of outdoors, eased anxiety and paranoia in healthy adult participants.
- About 60% of Americans report feelings of restlessness and agitation from prolonged time indoors, with 38% reporting increased depression and 33% higher anxiety. Conversely, 68% of people say time in nature helps them relax, 66% report it boosts their moods, and 64% report improved mental clarity and focus.
It may be the exposure to natural sunlight that human eyes crave. Researchers theorize that light striking the back of your retina directly signals several parts of your brain involved with sleep-wake cycles, memory, pain perception and mood states. Regardless of the mechanism, spending time outdoors facilitates better mental health and clearer thinking in most people.
Yard Work as a Nurturing, Healing Activity
The physical activity you perform when doing yard work creates the right physiological “soup” to encourage clear thinking. However, many tasks, such as pushing a mower or hauling debris to a dump site, also provide plenty of uninterrupted thinking time. You create the right environmental conditions to find a solution to what’s stressing you — but even if the answer doesn’t appear, magic still happens.
Yard work is a nurturing, healing activity, one that produces an immediate result. Beautifying your surroundings improves how you feel about yourself, creating pride in accomplishment. In some regions, clearing dry scrub and removing lawn debris doubles as wildfire protection — and keeping your home free of kindling decreases your overall stress levels while increasing your peace of mind. Regardless of where you live, tidy yards equate to higher property values.
Additionally, yard work nurtures the soul and makes you feel connected with the Earth. In helping nature heal, you can often cure yourself in a way your mind recognizes as symbolic. As winter nears and the last leaves fall from a tree, many incorrectly say that the tree is dead. In reality, the tree has entered a dormant state that will allow it to be relocated and help it to adapt and thrive in a new environment. It’s a process that reminds you that all things are temporary, and this stress, too, shall pass. Meanwhile, you symbolically remind yourself that life — and happiness — will return in new and beautiful ways.
Yard Work Projects for Every Level of DIY Expertise
Another healing feature of yard work is that there’s nearly always something to do. That’s the beauty of living, growing things — they change. You, as a human, have the unique chance to nurture them. Here are some ideas to get you started.
1. Xeriscape an Area
Xeriscaping refers to using native, drought-resistant plants as an alternative to grass. This style of landscape is the most environmentally friendly method, as it eliminates the need for extensive watering, pesticides and fertilizers.
However, you don’t have to rip up all your sod at once — it can take time and practice to achieve the look you want. Instead, select one corner or area of your yard to begin. Start by removing any soil and non-native plants from your designated spot.
Break down empty cardboard boxes, lying them on the bare earth to discourage roots from sprouting before adding a layer of lava rock or mulch. Unlike plastic barriers, cardboard biodegrades and enriches the soil below instead of adding microplastics.
Then, add native plants. If you aren’t sure what grows wild in your area, head to your nearest nature center. Local independent nurseries can also double as educational facilities, and the staff are often quite knowledgeable about what grows best under which conditions.
2. Plant a Victory Garden
Victory gardens first emerged in WWI as a method of feeding British troops but became big in the U.S., thanks to the USDA push during WWII. Today, growing your own food increases your independence and can build a sense of agency that helps you cope with stress.
Begin your garden by enclosing an area to keep away pests like deer and rabbits — tightly woven chicken wire often works. A raised bed lets you enrich the soil with compost from your food scraps, which also keeps organic waste out of landfills.
Take inventory. While most seeds from typical grocery store produce departments are hybrids that produce unpredictable offspring, saving the seeds from your organic fruits and veggies gives you a head start on growing what you already eat for free. Dry the seeds from ripe fruits and place them in seedling containers on a sunny windowsill, keeping the soil moist but not wet until they sprout.
Put your computer to work and discover the best planting times for various foods and other crops. Feel free to mix ornamentals in with your victory garden. For example, many gardeners use marigolds to deter common pests like hornworms around their tomatoes.
What if You Don’t Have a Yard?
Can you still use yard work for stress relief if you don’t have a lawn? Yes, but it’s a little trickier. However, you have options.
Consider seeking a community garden project to get involved in. Although many require a small initial investment to join, you get a major bang for your buck. Some organizations provide guidance and shared supplies, keeping your costs minimal.
You could also start a side hustle helping others in need. Your efforts could bring in extra cash while providing a valuable benefit to your community. For example, those who live in areas of high wildfire risk must maintain clear yards, but some residents who age in place no longer have the physical ability to work in them. You could help them stay in compliance. Lowering the risk of wildfires on nearby properties also reduces your stress levels.
Yard Work for Stress Relief
Yard work offers a host of physical and mental benefits. It creates the right environmental conditions for clear thinking, mitigating the flow of adrenaline and cortisol. It gets you moving in the great outdoors and provides a positive outlet with immediate results. The next time you feel the tension building to maximum levels, grab a rake and get to work.
Author Bio
Jack Shaw is a senior writer and editor at Modded, where he passionately explores the intricate connections between physical health, mental well-being, and the dynamics of interpersonal relationships. With a keen eye for detail and a knack for crafting engaging content, Jack’s articles offer valuable insights into living a balanced and fulfilling life.
