Boost your mental health

​As times have grown increasingly tough for many people, taking care of the garden of one’s mental health is of the utmost importance. It is here, too, that sprouting can make a positive impact on your wellbeing, with a long body of evidence touting the ritualistic, positive habit building, mood boosting benefits of growing one’s own food at home. Spending small portions of your time every day tending to your sprouts fosters not only a sense of ritual, but allows for a sense of achievement, as you will be working towards a goal while nurturing a living being, not to mention the reward that comes with being able to eat your freshly grown sprouts! Gardening in any form has been long linked to reductions in stress and anxiety, and has even been coopted into a form of “horticultural therapy”, wherein gardening-like activities have been shown to reduce pain, promote rehabilitation and recovery, help individuals cope with traumatic experiences, and instill a positive association with healthy eating habits (19). Additionally, in times of crisis, at-home growing has been linked to reductions in stress through reducing perceived and tangible food insecurity (20). Put simply, growing and nurturing the garden of your mental health can begin with growing and nurturing a garden in your home through sprouting!