Yesterday marked the official start of gardening season here in Baltimore. While some may gripe about the return of weeding and mowing, it comes not a moment too soon for me.
Remember what I said about exercising through play?
If that doesn’t float your boat, or if you lack age-appropriate playmates, try gardening. Whenever I need an extra dose of focus, calm, and positive energy, I start with the backyard.
It’s no surprise that ADHD adults benefit from getting their hands dirty. In addition to brownie points with your spouse, you get:
- A free, productive workout.
Unlike a jog or a trip to the gym, mowing the lawn or digging up the garden creates immediate, visible results. A freshly weeded flower bed or an appreciative spouse will help reinforce the behavior and motivate you to get out there more frequently. So will the sense that you’re actually doing something — a feeling you won’t get from 30 minutes of treadmill running. For a bonus, consider using manual lawn tools whenever possible. We have a relatively small yard, and I can’t get enough of my manual reel mower. If you don’t want to give up the power push mower, try turning off the self-propelling feature.
- All-natural relief from your ADHD symptoms.
Though most research has focused on children, there are strong indications that acute physical activity improves executive function enough to serve as a complementary treatment for ADHD. Outdoor physical activity provides a double win because exposure to “green” or natural settings may further reduce ADHD symptoms.If you rely on stimulant medication to do the heavy lifting, you may be amazed at the impact increased physical activity and outdoor time can have on your life. Every little bit helps! - A channel for your fidgeting impulses.
Are you the dinner host who gets up from the table every two minutes to refill water, clear plates almost before your guests finish eating, or look for a missing pickle fork? I feel this way when my kid plays outside. I avoid sitting still by pulling stray weeds, filling planters, pruning bushes, and raking leaves. - Instant gratifcation…
There’s nothing like surveying the fruits of your labor. The finish line is always in sight, and once you get there, you get a nice dopamine rush when you look at all the work you’ve just done. - …and a project that teaches you to wait.
That said, you can’t rush a garden. Once you plant your seeds, you have to wait for them to sprout. No amount of impatience, all-nighters, or meddling will speed them up. Just don’t forget to mist them with water while you’re obsessively checking them every afternoon. And gardening doesn’t just require patience while the plants grow. Gardening teaches you to slow down and be gentle with those little seedlings. You may not succeed at first, but you’ll get it eventually. - A natural high
Getting your blood flowing on a sunny day won’t just ease your ADHD symptoms, it’ll brighten your spirits. With a boost in mood-enhancing serotonin from the sun and, if you really exert yourself, endorphins from working your heart and muscles, you’re bound to feel pretty good when you’re done.
So what are you waiting for? Get out and start digging in that dirt!
Hey there! Are you enjoying The ADHD Homestead?
Here's the thing: I don't like ads. I don't want to sell your attention to an advertising service run by the world's biggest data mining company. I also value my integrity and my readers' trust above all, which means I accept very few sponsorships/partnerships.
So I'm asking for your support directly. For the cost of one cup of coffee, you can help keep this site unbiased and ad-free.
Below you will find two buttons. The first lets you join our crew of Patreon pals and pledge monthly support for my work. Patrons also have access to my Audioblogs podcast. The second takes you to a simple donation page to pledge one-time or recurring support for The ADHD Homestead, no frills, no strings. Do whichever feels best for you!
I am in an unenviable position- ADHD and a motor-neuron disease affecting my legs. And fibromyalgia. I use a cane in the house, sometimes two and rarely a walker. For grocery shopping, a manual wheelchair.
I can’t swim (I can’t coordinate my body well enough) and can’t process what is going on in sports. My area doesn’t have some resources I could use for public exercise, and I’m fighting my insurance company on my physical therapy because I’m in a position where it keeps my abilities steady and they want “improvement” on certain measures. Explaining to bureaucracy that no, you aren’t walking faster but you did 3 sessions in your garden of a time and intensity that, if you weren’t getting your therapy, you could do one of and spend the next day in bed…
I have raised beds, wheeled carts, and tools that let me work from a seat (I pull it between areas). I use a timer or play music to move between tasks that use different muscle groups, especially to remember not to overdo things that are hard on my body, so I can do another task and know that in 2 tracks I’ll finish tying the beans or digging or whatever. That also makes sure I don’t spend the whole time on something I can’t really see, and go in with a list of things that were at least worked on.
And in the end I can happily overfocus on cooking (I found a drafting table chair on wheels high enough I can reach the counters and push and pull my way around the work area so I can enjoy that as well,), with what I grew filling my plate. I often am not able to do things that others can see or that do more physically than sit in a rocking chair and knit. So looking out my window now, at my very early garden, makes me happy and is soothing when the insurance company issue, or other uncontrollables, are stuck in my head.
Thank you for sharing this, and I’m glad your garden is giving you comfort!
Not overdoing it is difficult, especially when you get in that ADHD hyperfocus zone that makes it so hard to change gears. The timer and music are great ideas — maybe I need a garden playlist! I had a shoulder injury, which I had surgically repaired several years ago, and I constantly overdid it and would literally not be able to use my arm for several days afterward.
As I get older, I’m trying to train myself to stop before I’ve hit a breaking point. The shoulder is better but I’m more aware of my body and the fact that I ought to care for it. I think I need to start taking my radio and my Time Timer outside with me 😉