Gardening is a hobby that catches attention from an array of people across the globe. Whether you have a pot on a windowsill or rows of raised beds, gardening is a hobby loved by many. Whether you have a green thumb or struggle keeping a succulent alive, there are much more benefits of gardening than you think.

While gardening, you increase how much you exercise. When you are outside tending to your garden, you may squat down to view a plant or walk back and forth carrying supplies like mulch or a plastic watering can full of water. No matter what you are doing, when you are in a garden, you are constantly moving. This not only burns calories, keeping your heart rate up, but also works your muscles out. Keeping your muscles active also improves your balance and flexibility, which keeps you more agile as you get older.

Gardening also lowers stress. Whether it is watering plants three times a week or pulling weeds every weekend, it all contributes to a healthier mind. The Mayo Clinic states, “Routines provide structure to our day and are linked to improved mental health. Gardening routines, like watering and weeding, can create a soothing rhythm to ease stress.”

When you garden, you also spend more time outside. When you are outside, you take deeper breaths, aiding in digestion, and increasing oxygen in your blood, giving you better immune response and helping clear your lungs out. Another added benefit is all the sunlight you soak in. Some extra time in the sun will boost your vitamin D levels and also lower your blood pressure.

Gardening is even correlated to living longer! Dan Buttner is a longevity researcher who has spent his years of his time studying and going to “blue zones,” areas in the world where there's a large population who are living past their 80s and 90s even past 100 years of age.

He studies what all these places have in common and what they are doing to live longer, and one of those things is gardening. In some places, it even gave people a reason to get up in the morning. Buttner says, “In Okinawa, they say that anybody who grows old healthfully needs an ikigai, or reason for living. Gardening gives you that something to get up for every day.”

Whether it’s a pot outside your door or an extravagant trellis full of vines, gardening improves not just your overall physical health, but plays a key role in the state of your mental health as well, keeping you sharp and happy for years to come.