June 6th Is National Gardening Exercise Day

June 6th is National Gardening Exercise Day. A day when all of us are encouraged to rise up from our chairs/couches and spend some time outdoors exercising and via gardening activities!

Benefits of gardening

I love to garden, it helps me clear my head and allows me to get away from my tech devices. Bonus points: I know that gardening is good for my diabetes, my heart and my a** - both literally and figuratively!

Gardening also allows me to get my hands dirty and forces me to notice tiny changes that turn into beautiful and tasty ones on a daily basis. Gardening is a fantastic way to get moving; is a known stress-reducer, increases our dexterity and fine motor skills, and helps with depression and anxiety. And gardening teaches us patience - something I need more of in my life…and my life with diabetes. Actually, I need all of the above in my life…and my life with diabetes :)

Being outside and participating in gardening activities - even if it’s only for 15 minutes, allows our brains to recharge and rehabilitates all of our senses.

Burning calories with gardening

And according to the folks at CalorieLab, the caloric breakdown of various gardening activities in 15 minutes increments are quite substantial. 15 minutes of raking burns 56 calories, 15 minutes of watering burns 9 calories, and 15 minutes of mowing the lawn with a manual burns 70 calories! For a more extensive breakdown of calories burned during various gardening activities, click HERE. You'll be shocked at the calories you’ll burn!

If you don’t have your garden patch, consider window/container gardening and growing plants indoors. A few planted pots not only brighten up a room, but they also brighten up our spirits and increase our oxygen intake.

And if you find yourself wanting to do more than container/window gardening, but are lacking the space consider joining a local community garden or volunteering at a local city-owned garden. Both options are excellent ways to get moving and meet new people in the process.