Gardening makes you healthier!

A study in Preventive Medicine Reports suggests that a few small tweaks to your time spent digging, weeding and pruning can deliver big health benefits. Here's how 

- Ann Green

Digging in the dirt
beats the blues

There's something satisfying about getting your hands dirty, and a U.K. study suggests doing so improves your mood in a similar way to antidepressants. Scientists suspect that friendly bacteria we come into contact with in soil spur a surge of mood-boosting hormones. These bacteria (called Mycobacterium vaccae) flip on serotonin-producing neurons, increasing the release of the hormones for at least 12 hours.

Watering