Science says gardening boosts dopamine

As editor of New Zealand Gardener Magazine and author of a new book on growing vegetables, Joe McCarroll You spend a lot of time…well, actually staring at a screen. But when she actually touches her hand to the soil, her sense of happiness and hope springs forth.

A few years ago, like you, I was reading scientific papers on soil microbiology, and one of the scientists wrote something that really struck me.

She says there is a bacteria in the soil called Mycobacterium vaccae (often called M. vaccae for short). The bacteria is a type of natural antidepressant, and contact with it has been shown to increase serotonin levels in the prefrontal cortex, which in turn regulates anxiety levels and, in turn, increases feelings of happiness and relaxation. she said. Scientifically speaking, putting your hands in soil really does make you feel better.

More than that, harvesting what you grow triggers the release of the feel-good neurotransmitter dopamine. Dopamine is the same neurochemical that’s released when you eat something delicious, have good sex, or get a series of fire emojis in your thirst trap. Gram’s photo.

“Want to know why people garden?” the scientist wrote. “Because it really makes you happy.”

Now, I don’t want to negate the entire field of microbiology. Pasteurization and penicillin were obviously great. However, reading this made me wonder if my tax dollars were wasted on this research. Of course, gardening makes me happy. Indeed, we already knew that.

I have a medium-sized, usually quite untidy garden in the suburbs of Auckland. We grow a lot of vegetables and herbs, and we have about 20 different types of fruit trees. I am also interested in ornamental plants, especially perennials. And I’ve been thinking about how gardening can make my life better.

Some of it is very obvious. Time spent in the garden is time spent outside, and most of the rest of the day is spent indoors, working, eating, sleeping, scrolling doom. Being out in the fresh air and feeling the sun on my skin always lifts my mood. In fact, research shows that the average urban New Zealander spends around 90 per cent of their time indoors at home, work or school, yet further scientific research is blindingly revealing. It has been repeatedly proven that spending time with others can lift your mood. Additionally, it improves mental health and emotional well-being and provides cognitive benefits.

Sit less, move more

I once saw someone wearing a T-shirt say, “Garden is a verb, not a noun.” I don’t know if that person should make a living teaching grammar, but I accept their broader perspective. Gardening is an action word, but it also has a spiritual side. Even if I’m just walking around the backyard, lifting dahlia tubers, or mulching roses, it all requires moving around. Modern life, or my modern life, involves quite a bit of sitting and looking at a screen. So all you have to do is pull, dig, twist, bend and use your body. It’s also fun to feel tired after working in the garden. It feels good to feel the satisfying fatigue of physical exertion, rather than the low-level, frustrating fatigue you feel after a day of fighting traffic jams or being needlessly copied into emails. .

Gardening has some other great benefits, at least for me. I don’t want to use overused store-bought terms like meditation or being mindful, but spending time in your garden focuses your mind and brings you into the present moment. It’s like doing a jigsaw puzzle, except it’s not completely pointless. I thought gardening would give me a sense of control over my life. Almost everything that happens in the world is outside of my sphere of influence, so my garden is a place where I can change things and make things happen. But more and more I think the real lesson is almost the opposite. There are many things in the garden that are outside of your control, and many things that will surprise and amaze you. The real lesson is that your garden and the natural world is not something you can stand outside and control, but rather it is something you can control. Something you’re a part of. For me, that awareness comes with great satisfaction and a sense of responsibility.

I remember talking to a New Zealand Gardener magazine reader who was almost 100 years old and still spent up to four hours a day in his garden. I asked him why. He said it’s obviously a good way to stay active and he likes spending time outside. But he also told me that at this stage most of his life is likely over, so gardening has become an investment in his future. He said that every action we take in the garden is an act of hope, trying to create a better future. I often think about the time I spend in my garden contributing to a richer, more beautiful tomorrow. And who wouldn’t be heartened by that?

“This Makes Me Happy” is a 1News series about what brings us joy in life.

All images by Sally Tagg (cropped from original), courtesy of: Vegetable patch made from scratchby Joe McCarroll (Upstart Press) MSRP $49.99, on sale now.