RESEARCH

A Pilot Randomized Controlled Trial of Group-Based Indoor Gardening and Art Activities Demonstrates Therapeutic Benefits to Healthy Women

Both gardening and art-making can help boost mental health in healthy women by improving mood and reducing stress. This suggests these activities have potential as public health tools.
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Summary

This study explored whether gardening or art activities could improve the well-being of healthy women. Forty-two women were divided into two groups: one participated in indoor gardening, and the other engaged in art-making, both for one hour twice a week over four weeks. Researchers measured things like mood, stress, depression, anxiety, and heart rate before, during, and after the sessions. The activities were designed to be similar in terms of physical and mental engagement, with the main difference being the interaction with living plants in the gardening group.

The study found that both gardening and art activities led to improvements in mood, stress levels, and depression symptoms. However, the researchers didn’t find any significant differences between the benefits of gardening versus art. They also found no strong effects on heart rate or blood pressure. The study suggests that both group-based gardening and art-making can be helpful in improving the mental health of healthy women, highlighting potential public health benefits.

Link

Odeh, R., Diehl, E.R.M., Nixon, S.J. et al. (2022). A pilot randomized controlled trial of group-based indoor gardening and art activities demonstrates therapeutic benefits to healthy women. PLoS ONE, 17(7), e0269248.

 

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