Gardening is linked to increased cardiovascular health, reduced anxiety symptoms, and improved mental acuity. But what about the straightforward physical benefits? Studies from several sources claim that gardening can help you sleep better, boost self-esteem, and reduce stress and depression. If you’ve always desired a flower or vegetable garden, but the weeds in your yard seem unmanageable, employing a lawn company to perform home maintenance can help get you started. For instance, professional home contractors can help you establish beds, and install gutter guards and rain barrels to get you started on your green thumb journey. In the meantime, here are some surprising health benefits of gardening:

1. Boosts immunity
The immune system is the defense system of your body. It can protect you against germs, bacteria, and viruses. Gardening requires you to get out of your house, enjoy nature, and breathe fresh air. According to a 2015 study published in Immunotargets and Therapy, when you work in the garden, the beneficial bacteria found in soil helps to improve your immune system and enables you to fight off infections easier.

2. Exposure to vitamin D
Human bodies can make vitamin D from sunlight absorption. Vitamin D, known as the “sunshine vitamin” is essential for healthy bones and muscles. It aids in calcium absorption and regulates the amount of calcium in the blood. The more life-sustaining vitamin D you absorb means a healthier body, which is why gardening boosts the immune system. However, you may be exposed to less sunlight due to living in cold or raining temperatures, leading to vitamin D deficiency. To counter this issue, being outside in the garden allows your body to obtain vitamin D directly from the sun.

3. Enjoy aerobic exercise
Gardening is a source of aerobic exercise. It increases the heart rate and releases “happy” endorphins (serotonin) in your body, a natural antidepressant that improves mood and lowers stress. Gardening also helps strengthen bones and improve muscle tone—as you bend to dig, squat to weed, and lift heavy bags of soil and compost. Studies show that getting daily aerobic exercises can lower the risk of breast cancer, stroke, diabetes, and obesity.

4. Lowers blood pressure and improves mood
As mentioned, the brain releases endorphins (or serotonin) when you garden. These chemicals positively affect your mood, making you feel calm and happy. When your mood improves, it also reduces stress and anxiety and improves sleep, which lowers blood pressure. The positive energy made by gardening will help you fight depression and support effective weight loss. Most importantly, when you’re outdoors, you also have the opportunity to socialize with neighbors and friends, creating a sense of community. Gardening is a great way to de-stress from work and improve your mental health.

5. Offers fresh, locally grown produce
Even though gardening reaps all the fresh produce (and more than) you can eat, you can also avoid the diseases transmitted by chemicals in food by using non-toxic pests and weed deterrents when gardening. Growing your fruits and vegetables eliminates the need for you to shop for genetically modified products, which often contain harmful chemicals, like herbicides and pesticides, which have been linked to several types of cancer. By growing your own farm to table organic produce you are also reducing your family’s exposure to several environmental toxins.

Gardening has a lot of health, cost, and environmental benefits. Growing your own food will save money on your grocery bill, and get you out in the sunshine and fresh air. The health benefits of gardening are too plentiful to ignore.