Like many, you may know gardening is a hobby with great upsides. It’s clear enough that time with flowers can keep you calm, centered, and focused. Still, were you aware your garden could also help you snooze? Research shows that tending to plants leads to quality rest at night. As for the details, let your Frisco sleep doctor fill in some specifics for you. Keep reading to learn how gardening helps with sleep problems and why to add treatment on top of it.
The Research on Gardening & Sleeping
The finding on gardening’s rest-related benefits comes from a recent 2024 study. Published in the Journal of Affective Disorders, this research says gardeners have better sleep quality.
For the study, researchers assessed 60,000 participants from the 2017 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS). Doing so showed that regular gardeners had “lower odds of multiple sleep complaints” – things like short sleep duration, sleep apnea, etc. Gardening even seemed to overcome the afternoon haze that makes you tired during the day.
This conclusion may have a major impact on health fields. After all, healthcare providers could prescribe gardening as a potential therapy for sleep disorders.
Why Would Gardening Help You Sleep?
To be honest, the study doesn’t explain why gardening works as a sleep aid. That question isn’t given a precise and exact answer from current research.
Of course, scientists do have a number of working theories. Some believe gardening involves exercise that uses up energy, ensuring you can sleep deeply. Others think outdoor green spaces relieve stress that’d otherwise disrupt sleep patterns. Still, scientists will need to delve deeper to reach a more solid conclusion.
Don’t Forget to Get Treatment
As helpful as it is, don’t just use gardening as your solution for sleep troubles. You should also see a sleep specialist to get the proper care you need.
For starters, many specialists now offer sleep testing. Its methods assess you to learn the source of your bedtime struggles. Based on what it finds, it’ll confirm whether you have sleep apnea or some other disorder.
With a diagnosis in hand, a specialist can offer several treatment options. One would be CPAP therapy – the use of a machine to help you breathe at night. A doctor could also suggest oral appliance therapy, which uses a dental device to shift your airway.
Since gardening helps with sleep problems, consider getting more in touch with nature. That and medical care could make your nights more restful!
About the Practice
Star Sleep & Wellness Frisco is based in Frisco, TX. Led by our amazing team, our practice strives to give every patient the quality rest they deserve. That means we offer sleep disorder assessments, sleep testing, and varied treatments for sleep apnea. In particular, you can trust our oral appliance therapy and CPAP therapy to help you snooze deeply at night. For more details or to book a visit, you can reach us on our website or call us at (844)-409-4657.