Subscribe
The latest psychology and neuroscience discoveries.
My Account
  • Mental Health
  • Social Psychology
  • Cognitive Science
  • Psychopharmacology
  • Neuroscience
  • About
No Result
View All Result
PsyPost
PsyPost
No Result
View All Result
Home Exclusive Mental Health

People who spend more time gardening tend to have fewer sleep problems

by Eric W. Dolan
May 10, 2024
in Mental Health
(Photo credit: Adobe Stock)

(Photo credit: Adobe Stock)

Share on TwitterShare on Facebook
Follow PsyPost on Google News

A new study published in the Journal of Affective Disorders has found that individuals who engage in gardening are less likely to suffer from multiple sleep complaints compared to those who do not exercise. The research highlights gardening as a beneficial activity potentially leading to better sleep quality, including fewer instances of insomnia, daytime sleepiness, and sleep apnea.

The interest in sleep health has grown significantly due to its crucial role in overall wellbeing. Previous research has connected poor sleep with an array of serious health issues, such as heart diseases, neurodegenerative disorders, and even an increased risk of death. Recognizing the need for effective strategies to combat sleep-related problems, researchers turned their attention to gardening—previously noted for its low injury risk and beneficial impacts on health—as a potential aid to improve sleep patterns.

“According to the Physical Activity Guideline for Americans (2nd edition), gardening is a muscle-strengthening and multicomponent physical activity with one of the lowest injury risks, which is appropriate and recommended for older adults,” said study author Xiang Gao, a dean and distinguished professor at Fudan University.

“The benefits of gardening for physical and psychological health was well-established. However, the gardening-sleep association among the community population remained unrevealed. Therefore, this study aimed to explore whether gardening was associated with sleep complaints.”

For their study, the researchers analyzed data from the 2017 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS), a comprehensive health-related telephone survey that gathers data annually across the United States. The survey included a wide range of questions on health behaviors, chronic diseases, and preventive measures, with specific modules on physical activity and sleep complaints examined for this study. The initial sample consisted of 85,148 adults from ten different states. However, due to incomplete information on physical activity and sleep outcomes, the final sample size was narrowed down to 62,098 adults.

Participants were categorized based on their engagement in physical activities, specifically distinguishing between non-exercisers, gardeners, and other exercisers. Gardeners were identified based on their responses to the physical activity module, where gardening needed to be listed as one of the two most time-consuming exercises they engaged in. This group was further divided into tertiles based on the duration of gardening per week, which allowed the researchers to analyze the effects of varying intensities of gardening on sleep health.

The analysis revealed that both gardeners and other exercisers showed a lower likelihood of experiencing multiple sleep complaints compared to non-exercisers. The odds ratios adjusted for potential confounders (like demographics, lifestyle, and chronic health conditions) highlighted that gardeners had a 42% lower likelihood of having multiple sleep complaints compared to non-exercisers. Other exercisers had a slightly less pronounced benefit, showing a 33% lower likelihood compared to non-exercisers.

Furthermore, the study uncovered a dose-response relationship between the amount of time spent gardening and sleep complaints. As the duration of gardening per week increased, the likelihood of having multiple sleep complaints progressively decreased. This trend remained significant even when controlling for various confounding factors.

On the level of individual sleep complaints, gardeners reported lower incidences of short sleep duration, probable insomnia, and daytime sleepiness compared to non-exercisers. The effects on sleep apnea were less clear, with no significant improvements observed for gardeners or other exercisers over non-exercisers. This pattern suggests that while gardening can positively impact several aspects of sleep, its effects may vary depending on the specific sleep issue considered.

These findings suggest that gardening has potential health benefits that extend into improving sleep quality and reducing the prevalence of common sleep disorders.

“As a valuable non-pharmaceutical intervention and an aerobic physical activity, gardening could be more strongly recommended for adults to minimize their likelihood of sleep complaints,” Gao told PsyPost. “The findings encourage the adults to participate in gardening activity, such as watering the field and growing vegetables.”

While the study provides compelling evidence supporting the benefits of gardening on sleep health, there are limitations due to its cross-sectional nature—mainly, the inability to definitively establish causality. The reliance on self-reported data could also introduce bias.

The study’s authors recommend further prospective studies to confirm these findings and to explore the mechanisms through which gardening could influence sleep health. Understanding these pathways can help in developing targeted interventions to harness the therapeutic benefits of gardening.

“We are committed to exploring the associations between gardening and health,” Gao said, adding that his research team has also found a positive link between gardening and cardiovascular health. “Additionally, we will continue to examine the associations between gardening and odds of subjective cognitive decline, and explore the potential pathways underlying the gardening-cognition relationship.”

The study, “Association between gardening and multiple sleep complaints: A nationwide study of 62,098 adults,” was authored by Kaiyue Wang, Yaqi Li, Muzi Na, Chen Wang, Djibril M. Ba, Liang Sun, and Xiang Gao.

TweetSendScanShareSendPin7ShareShareShareShareShare

RELATED

Ketamine repairs reward circuitry to reverse stress-induced anhedonia
Mental Health

Can sunshine make you happier? A massive study offers a surprising answer

July 9, 2025

Can something as simple as the weather really change how we feel about our lives? A sweeping new study from China explores the long-debated link between sunshine and well-being, using data from thousands of people across the country.

Read moreDetails
Ketamine repairs reward circuitry to reverse stress-induced anhedonia
Anxiety

Virtual reality meditation eases caregiver anxiety during pediatric hospital stays, with stronger benefits for Spanish speakers

July 9, 2025

Researchers at Stanford found that a six-minute guided meditation delivered through a VR headset lowered anxiety levels in parents of hospitalized children. The intervention outperformed standard relaxation methods, with Spanish-speaking caregivers experiencing the greatest benefit.

Read moreDetails
Ketamine repairs reward circuitry to reverse stress-induced anhedonia
Autism

Prenatal exposure to “forever chemicals” linked to autistic traits in children, study finds

July 9, 2025

Children exposed to high levels of PFAS during early pregnancy may face an increased risk of autistic traits by age four, especially if they also have a higher inherited risk for autism, according to new findings.

Read moreDetails
Ketamine repairs reward circuitry to reverse stress-induced anhedonia
Depression

Ketamine repairs reward circuitry to reverse stress-induced anhedonia

July 9, 2025

New research shows a single low, non-anesthetic dose of ketamine revived pleasure seeking in chronically stressed mice by restoring weakened excitatory synapses onto nucleus accumbens dopamine D1 neurons, pinpointing a circuit mechanism for the drug’s rapid antidepressant effect.

Read moreDetails
Psychedelic drug DOI activates specific brain neurons to ease anxiety
Depression

Choline imbalance in the brain linked to with cognitive symptoms in young depression patients

July 8, 2025

Researchers have identified metabolic differences in the brains of young adults with depression who also experience cognitive impairment. The study sheds light on how chemical imbalances in key brain regions may contribute to thinking and memory problems in depression.

Read moreDetails
Epigenetic age acceleration moderates the link between loneliness and chronic health conditions
Dementia

Sedentary time linked to faster brain aging in older adults, study finds

July 8, 2025

A large observational study found that sedentary time in older adults predicted worsening memory, shrinking brain structures, and slower mental processing over seven years, regardless of how physically active participants were.

Read moreDetails
The most popular dementia videos on TikTok tend to have the lowest quality, study find
Addiction

People with short-video addiction show altered brain responses during decision-making

July 8, 2025

People who frequently use short-video apps like TikTok may show reduced loss sensitivity and impulsive decision-making, according to a new neuroimaging study that links addictive use patterns to changes in brain activity during risky choices.

Read moreDetails
Probiotic supplements may improve working memory
ADHD

Probiotics show promise for reducing hyperactivity in young children with autism and ADHD

July 7, 2025

Researchers are exploring the gut-brain connection to support children with autism and ADHD. A new clinical trial reports a specific probiotic blend reduced parent ratings of hyperactivity and impulsivity in younger children, suggesting a potential new therapeutic target.

Read moreDetails

SUBSCRIBE

Go Ad-Free! Click here to subscribe to PsyPost and support independent science journalism!

STAY CONNECTED

LATEST

Can sunshine make you happier? A massive study offers a surprising answer

New study links why people use pornography to day-to-day couple behavior

Virtual reality meditation eases caregiver anxiety during pediatric hospital stays, with stronger benefits for Spanish speakers

Fascinating new advances in psychedelic science reveal how they may heal the mind

Dysfunction within the sensory processing cortex of the brain is associated with insomnia, study finds

Prenatal exposure to “forever chemicals” linked to autistic traits in children, study finds

Ketamine repairs reward circuitry to reverse stress-induced anhedonia

Neuroscientists decode how people juggle multiple items in working memory

         
       
  • Contact us
  • Privacy policy
  • Terms and Conditions
[Do not sell my information]

Welcome Back!

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password?

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In

Add New Playlist

Subscribe
  • My Account
  • Cognitive Science Research
  • Mental Health Research
  • Social Psychology Research
  • Drug Research
  • Relationship Research
  • About PsyPost
  • Contact
  • Privacy Policy