How Soil Can Make You Happy;)
As May comes into bloom, there are many holidays, both obscure and well known, almost everyday of this glorious month. In addition to the more well- known May holidays such as “Cinco de Mayo”(May 5), “Mothers Day”(May 12th), &“Memorial Day”(May 27th), according to the Today.com ,the lesser-known holidays include examples such as, “National Play Outside Day”(May 4th), “World Laughter Day”(May 5th), and “National Herb Day”(May 6th) to name a few. What I love about this list of holidays is that it focuses on celebrating positive things and remembering, even tragic events, in a hopeful manner. May is also Mental Health Awareness Month. Staying positive and joyful can be difficult in our fast-paced world, and playing outside in the dirt and garden are just what the mental-wellness professional ordered!
According to the Permaculture College of Australia(1), there is some interesting research out there touting the anti-depressant effects of working with soil, in addition to research pointing out that popular pesticide treatments are shown to cause depressive symptoms:
Serotonin is a happy chemical, a natural anti-depressant and strengthens the immune system(1). Getting your hands dirty in the garden can increase your serotonin levels – contact with soil and a specific soil bacteria, Mycobacterium vaccae, triggers the release of serotonin in our brain according to research(1).
There is a release of dopamine in the brain when we harvest products from the garden. The researchers hypothesise that this response evolved over nearly 200,000 years of hunter gathering, that when food was found (gathered or hunted) a flush of dopamine released in the reward centre of brain triggered a state of bliss or mild euphoria. The dopamine release can be triggered by sight (seeing a fruit or berry) and smell as well as by the action of actually plucking the fruit(1).
Working with organic, non- chemical treatments in the garden and in the soil can also help us to feel happy- A study in 2008 discovered that glyphosate, the active ingredient of Roundup, depletes serotonin and dopamine levels in mammals (1).
To celebrate May as Mental Health Awareness month, get outside when you can and play in the dirt! Plant some native wildflower seeds, pull weeds, dig for worms and most of all, have fun!!