Gardening as good as some therapies for mental health, indicates national study

Gardening and ‘outdoor mindfulness’ can improve mild to moderate mental health conditions in as little as 12 weeks, according to the findings of a government-backed programme known as green social prescribing.

Seven ‘test and learn’ green social prescribing sites were identified across England, which included a programme in Humber and North Yorkshire – the first of the seven sites to publish results from the national programme.

Green social prescribing is a practice whereby a healthcare professional refers a patient to community-based nature activities to help improve health and wellbeing beyond medical treatments.

Photograph: iStock

More than 220 participants from across Humber and North Yorkshire were included in the programme, and their mental health status was evaluated before and after exposure to activities.

The team used the Office for National Statistics measures of personal wellbeing, as well as the hospital anxiety and depression scale (HADS) to understand if participants had made improvements.

Signs of improvement were similar to those seen in short-term cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT), said researchers.

Professor Peter Coventry, a director of mental health at the university of York, said: “We have known for some time that nature has a positive impact on health and wellbeing, but in more recent years, a stronger evidence-base has grown that proves this to be true for mental health in particular.

“The fact that activities such as gardening, tending allotments, and care farming had the most impact on the participants in our study, demonstrated that it is not just about being passive in nature, but connecting with it in a meaningful way.

The study showed positive impacts were seen in all ages, ranging from age 18 to 85, and across genders.

Researchers are now calling for more investment to increase the number of green social prescribers that GPs and other health and social care professionals can refer their patients to.

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