When you have spent more than half of your life working, it is very difficult to be inactive overnight. Hence the many retirees who devote themselves to gardening when they live in a house with a little outdoor space:here is a good occupation to fill their free time.
If we sing the praises of gardening today, it is because its health benefits are very numerous for seniors. Moreover, nowadays we call this activity a gentle sport. Geriatricians recommend it to keep fit and to maintain motor skills. This activity is therefore recommended for retirees suffering from chronic problems of osteoarthritis, polyarthritis or even osteoporosis.
Indeed, repetitive gestures such as kneeling, squatting and bending the back regularly solicit the muscles and joints, while promoting calorie expenditure. In addition, mowing the lawn, trimming, digging, hoeing, raking and watering are also excellent cardiovascular exercises. Therefore, gardening three-quarters of an hour a day would be equivalent to twenty minutes of walking or fifteen minutes of aerobics.
And this, without forgetting to specify the effectiveness of this hobby against stress, as well as depression. Also, remember, gardening takes place outdoors. Nothing like it to look good and fill up with vitamin D. In short, for the elderly, gardening is to be practiced without moderation. In addition, as seniors are now "connected", no problem for them to find advice from the very wide choice of websites dedicated to this theme, including Binette &Jardin. Even people who feel they don't have a green thumb become seasoned gardeners thanks to gardening tips from the web.
It is not surprising that this activity gave birth to horticultural therapy. Indeed, as its name suggests, this approach exploits the virtues of gardening to bring psychological and physical well-being in terms of health. On the other hand, this therapy is not only aimed at pensioners, but at every person, regardless of age and gender.
It is a fairly old discipline, moreover, since its creation by Benjamin Rush, a famous American psychiatrist, dates back to the middle of the eighteenth century. And even if horticultural therapy in France is still in its infancy, it is already very successful with individuals who have started it. And as this occupation helps to stimulate memory, horticultural therapy is strongly recommended for the elderly suffering from Alzheimer's disease.
But as it is a group activity, horticultural therapy is also recommended in cases of isolation and social exclusion. Otherwise, since the end of the 1990s, this therapy was already common in Japanese, American and Canadian retirement homes. Finally, on the other side of the Atlantic, this practice is one of the main activities offered in specialized establishments intended for the reception of autistic children.
