Doctor’s Orders
Over the years our industry has always promoted the health benefits that gardening provides.
But a new report out of England is urging doctors there to “prescribe” gardening and spending time in the garden to help patients ease the symptoms of a wide variety of medical conditions including cancer, dementia and other health problems.
The report, “Gardens and Health,” looks at a “social approach” to health and the different benefits gardens and gardening can bring to people in addition to other medical methods.
It was produced by the King’s Fund, an independent organization in the United Kingdom that works to improve health care in England.
David Buck, the report’s author, says social prescribing methods provide doctors with “non-clinical referral” options in lieu of or in addition to traditional medical practices.
Spending time gardening or enjoying outdoor spaces can reduce the feeling of isolationism that some patients experience and can help them manage dementia symptoms or recover faster from other medical conditions. The report referred to one study that found nearly a 20 percent decrease in violent incidents of dementia patients who spent time in a garden.
The report also states that gardening can help reduce anxiety, depression, stress and loneliness in patients along with many other health benefits.
Jane Ellison, England’s public health minister, is a proponent of the report. Speaking to the British newspaper The Guardian, Ellison said, “[Gardening] is profoundly good for you … [it] is a great way of keeping people active, of keeping them outside and keeping their sense of well-being very high.”
She adds, “There are things we can do around physical activity in particular that bring immediate payback … I’m trying to put this right across the agenda of dementia and cancer.”
While gardening may not be a cure-all for everyone, it definitely provides another option for the medical community, and more importantly, for the patients.
Gardening — it’s just what the doctor ordered!
FYI — You can download a copy of the 65-page report by clicking here.
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