Feeling Stressed About Coronavirus? Plant Something

By Paul Rusnak|March 24, 2020

The coronavirus (COVID-19) has officially taken over 2020. We’re all being impacted as the pandemic has systematically pulled apart normal daily life and is forcing humanity to adjust. Amid all the darkness, some interesting observations/reports around the world indicate silver linings being found in nature.

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1. Home-Grown Self Esteem

Growing any plant to fruition comes with it a sense of accomplishment and often nourishment.
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2. Gardening for Heart Health

According to WebMD, ‘Activities such as gardening, DIY projects, and housework may be as good as formal exercise when it comes to reducing the risk for heart attack and stroke.
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3. Get in the Garden and Reduces Stress

A Dutch study asked two groups of people to complete a stressful task and concluded that gardening for 30 minutes afterward resulted in lower cortisol (he hormone associated with stress) levels.
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4. Digging Happiness

Studies suggest that inhaling M. vaccae, a healthy bacteria that lives in soil, can increase levels of serotonin and reduce anxiety.
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5. You’ll Sleep Better!

Research at the University of Pennsylvania suggests the activity associated with gardening can help you sleep better at night.
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6. Improved Hand Strength

Gardening activities increase hand strength.
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7. Gardening for Family Health

Gardening can be a solo activity, or an opportunity for bonding with your family and friends. Early exposure to dirt has been linked to all kinds of long-term health benefits, from reducing allergies to autoimmune diseases.
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8. Growing Produce for Financial Health

To save time and money by growing your own produce, plant varieties that are expensive to buy and ones that you can easily store or preserve by canning, freezing, dehydrating, or pickling.

Since COVID-19 started its spread, chronic air pollution/air quality around China had greatly decreased during the height of the lockdown. Similarly, the muddied waters of Venice, Italy, have turned clear. It’s no coincidence these reports spring from two of the most impacted areas of coronavirus. Just these examples alone show how much impact humans have on the planet. More of these types of stories are sure to pop up as we go along.

Nature righting itself can be sobering if you look at it one way. Another way is what we can do to nurture not only the environment, but ourselves in this time of uncertainty. One way to do that – keeping the practice of social distancing in mind – is through home gardening.

Maybe it’s planting a Zen garden on your patio; or perhaps it’s a small veggie plot in a side yard; or how about a nicely lined landscape of bedding plants? No matter the plant selection or scale of the project, the end result can be satisfying, uplifting, and yes, good for your health.

Right now, no matter where you look, certain goods are hard to come by (toilet paper, anyone? Seriously??). Luckily, the food chain remains intact. Early on here in Florida, besides all the increased spending and panic buying in the grocery stores, I also noticed more activity in places like The Home Depot and Lowes. Hmm. Makes sense. Being ordered to work from home also means potentially more opportunities to work on your home. If you’re going to be self-isolating for a while or on quarantine, plants can be part of the remedy to feeling better mentally and physically. This is not just about home improvement anymore. Agriculture is critical in more ways than one (see “Gardening Is Beneficial for Health: A Meta-analysis”).