Indoor gardening for self-care this winter

Friday, November 19, 2021 by Carla Kolar

Gardening is a great way to foster biophilia, which means love of life, a term popularized by the book Biophilia by naturalist E.O. Wilson. It can deepen the relationship to nature and foster loving attitudes and behaviors toward all life. Gardening has grown in popularity during the pandemic, and now that the days are getting shorter and we head into winter, it is especially important for the mind and body to consider adding some plants to your life.

Why start gardening?

Seasonal Affective Disorder

Have you been having a tough time adjusting to the time change since daylight savings time ended? The days are getting shorter and now is the time to accept that winter is on its way. This also means that Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD), a type of depression which fluctuates with the seasons, is on the rise. Typically, SAD is treated with light therapy, medications and psychotherapy. Did you know that indoor gardening can also influence SAD? With less severe forms of depression, plants are one form of therapy that can be used to improve symptoms.Plants can encourage you to be near light and have something to take care of.

Productive study space

Adding plants to your study area is not only aesthetically pleasing, but it could actually help you with productivity. One study showed that office spaces decorated with plants increased workplace satisfaction, self-reported levels of concentration and perceived air quality as compared to plain office spaces. Adding a few plants to a previously plant-free space can increase productivity by 15%. That’s great news as we head into finals season.

Health impacts

Keeping plants around also has great impacts on your physical health. Take for example ‘Shinrin-yoku,’ a Japanese term referring to experiencing the atmosphere of the forest, also known as ‘forest bathing’. One study of this concept showed that forest environments have numerous health benefits like promoting lower concentrations of cortisol, lower pulse rate, lower blood pressure, greater parasympathetic nerve activity and lower sympathetic nerve activity in comparison to urban environments. That’s a great reason to trick your body into feeling like it is in a green environment. Plants also help to clean the air of toxins,which is important as we will be spending a lot of our time inside during the winter.

Here are some related books to check out, available through Waterloo Library or interlibrary loan:

Make sure you are following @uwlibrary on social media so you don’t miss forthcoming information on indoor gardening. Hope this helps to brighten your winter!

Other Resources