New research from the University of Edinburgh has found that one activity keeps senior adults sharp in their twilight years, regardless of income, education, and overall health: gardening.
In the study, published in the Journal of Environmental Psychology, the researchers observed that “gardening in later life” is linked to higher cognitive functioning for those over the age of 79.
“Identifying lifestyle behaviours that facilitate healthy cognitive aging is of major public interest for the prevention of cognitive decline and dementia,” said Janie Corley, a post-doctoral psychology researcher at the University of Edinburgh, and lead author of the study.
Corley went on to write that gardening was a “key leisure activity in late adulthood,” due to its accessibility as a “low-to-moderate intensity physical activity.”
“Engaging in gardening projects, learning about plants, and general garden upkeep, involves complex cognitive processes such as memory and executive function,” Corley explained.
“Consistent with the ‘use it or lose it’ framework of cognitive function, more engagement in gardening may be directly associated with a lower risk of cognitive decline.”
For Corley, gardening is not just a “productive” physical activity. It also requires creative thinking and strategic planning, both of which promote mental stimulation.
And according to a study from the Journals of Gerontology, those with higher cognitive function have a longer life expectancy.
The methodology behind the University of Edinburgh’s latest research is remarkable in and of itself.
The results are from the Lothian Birth Cohort 1921, a group of 550 Scottish men and women who were born over a century ago.
In 1931, at age 11, the children took part in an intelligence exam: the Scottish Mental Survey.
Between 1999 and 2001, the same participants, now aged around 79 years, participated in cognitive exams, physical tests, and lifestyle questionnaires. That last exam asked the cohort about their health, occupation, and physical activities — which included gardening.
Based on the results of the Lothian Birth Cohort’s childhood testing, and secondary testing at the turn of the millennium, researchers were able to draw their conclusions.
“Strengths of the present study include an extended longitudinal design and repeated cognitive assessments from childhood to later life, providing a unique opportunity for a direct comparison of cognitive performance over nearly seven decades,” Corley and her team explained.
Corley welcomed more research into the specific links between gardening and healthy cognitive aging, but there’s emerging evidence that gardening is good for you at any age.
A 2022 study from the National Institutes of Health found that spending “substantial time in a green space” reduces mental health challenges and acts as a “therapeutic intervention.”
Groups like Black Men With Gardens lean into the social health of gardening, as they provide advice to each other, build an online community, and “highlight the magic in the mundane.”
And some doctors have even begun offering their patients “nature prescriptions” to lower their blood pressure and reduce the risk of diseases that can lead to dementia.
“Nature provides soft fascination that reduces fatigue and irritability,” Melissa Lem, a Canadian-based physician who swears by nature prescriptions, told the BBC.
“We all know that more physical activity improves mental and physical health, but gardening supercharges those benefits.”
Header image via Bigstock (CC BY-NC 4.0)
