From the common man to royalty, the simple pastime of cultivating summer blooms or growing vegetables for the dinner table has aligned generations of Scots to the rhythms of nature. Now new research shows that gardening can make life itself longer and healthier. A ground-breaking study by Edinburgh University psychologists kept track of hundreds of Scots and their lifestyles across nearly a whole century.
And it found that time spent gardening may protect against dementia up to the age of 80. The paper – published in the – concludes: “The mentally stimulating nature of gardening, as yet relatively unexplored, might contribute to brain reserve even in older age. “These results identify a promising new line of inquiry for understanding the lifestyle factors that may promote successful cognitive ageing.
” The research The research team gathered data as part of a long-term survey of brain function called the . Children born in and around in 1921 sat an intelligence test when aged 11 to measure their reasoning and arithmetic ability. Hundreds of these people were then traced in later life at the turn of the century and took the exact same quiz when 79.
They also gave details of their lifestyles and completed frequent assessments of their brain health up to the age of 90. Of the 467 people tested, almost 30% had never gardened, but 44% still did regularly. The results showed a clear divide.
On average, the 280 who frequently or sometimes gardened had better cognitive abi.
