It seems that everyone’s been picking up new hobbies lately to pass the time until life goes back to normal. On top of this, taking care of our mental health is becoming increasingly important. As it turns out, indoor gardening is one hobby that can greatly affect your mental and emotional health while also proving to be a fun, rewarding pastime.
Maybe you struggle with depression, anxiety, or other mental health issues. Perhaps you just want to find a way to be more present and find increased satisfaction with your life. Whatever the case or situation may be, starting an indoor garden — in a grow room, grow tent, or greenhouse — can be a great way to boost your mood and relieve stress.
Table of Contents
- Indoor Gardening and the Power of Green
- Working with Plants Leads to Higher Moods
- Letting Go of Perfectionism in the Grow Room
- Connecting to the Earth
- Indoor Gardening Promotes Mindfulness and Attention
- Growing Your Own Food
- Connecting to Others
- Indoor Gardening and Mental Health
In this article we’ll take a look at the many ways having an indoor grow tent system or grow room can help maintain a positive mental health. We’ll also point you in the right direction so you can know where to get started if you’re a first-time grower!
Indoor Gardening and the Power of Green
Before we get into actually growing your own plants, did you know that aside from gardening, simply looking at green landscapes can help boost your mental well-being? It’s true! Studies show that being surrounded by or exposed to greenery and plants, especially when it comes to both outdoor and indoor gardening, can be extremely beneficial to your mental health.
There is even a form of therapy known as “green care” that involves exposure to plants and gardening. The Japanese have a similar expression for this phenomenon — they call it “shinrin-yoku,” which can be translated to “forest bathing.” Research and evidence point toward all sorts of benefits to immersing oneself in green environments — or even just spending some time each day looking at plants and greenery.
Exposure to green landscapes has been linked to decreased anxiety and depression, better stress management, and even easier, faster recovery from surgeries. Even images of nature can have this effect, so imagine what being surrounded by plants in your very own grow room or indoor grow tent kit could do.
One Japanese study found that looking at plants reduced stress, fear, anger, and sadness, along with blood pressure, pulse rate, and muscle tension. Another study found that postoperative patients who viewed plants and trees had better moods, reduced complications, and recovery times than those who didn’t. One study even found that patients who were exposed to plants were more satisfied with their hospital rooms.
Overall, simple exposure to plants can greatly affect your mood. If you live in the city or somewhere else where you aren’t able to spend time in nature frequently, an indoor garden can be a great way to get your daily dose of green. Even a few houseplants can brighten your space and bring you joy, but actually maintaining a garden can have added benefits.
What do long time growers recommend?
- If you want to get started with your very own indoor garden and are looking to care for just a few plants, we recommend the 2x4ft HID Soil Complete Indoor Grow Tent System. With this kit, you’ll be able to grow up to 4 full-sized plants.
- If you want to grow many plants and be surrounded by greenery, we recommend a large grow kit like the 8x4ft LED Soil Complete Indoor Grow Tent System. This is a tall and wide kit that will allow you to interact with up to 12 plants.
Working with Plants Leads to Higher Moods
Taking care of a few house plants is definitely beneficial to your mental health, but growing a whole indoor garden is even better.
The physical aspect of maintaining an indoor garden is good for your bodily health because it provides increased exercise, but it’s also been shown to release mood-boosting chemicals like serotonin and dopamine in your brain. One study even found that working with potting soil also helps lift moods because of a certain bacterium that triggers the release of serotonin.
In one study that was published in the Journal of Physiological Anthropology, a group of participants working on computer tasks were compared to a group transplanting indoor plants. It was found that those working with the plants felt more relaxed and comfortable, with less psychological stress.
The physical components of gardening are especially beneficial for older people who may be at risk of dementia as maintaining plants in an indoor or outdoor garden can help delay symptoms. Furthermore, studies show that those recovering from myocardial infarction or stroke have also found that the exercise is physically therapeutic.
The simple motions of gardening and working with plants can bring a great deal of comfort and joy to your life. If you’re able to garden in a space like a greenhouse, indoor grow room, or grow tent, this can be really beneficial to your mental health.
What do long time growers recommend?
- Whether you’re a first-time grower or an experienced gardener, a 6.5x6.5ft LED Soil Complete Indoor Grow Tent System is great if you want to boost your mood and grow 10 to 12 plants.
- If you already have a grow room and are looking to upgrade to an LED light to boost your mood, we suggest the S450 Advance Spectrum MAX LED Grow Light Panel for smaller spaces and the S900 Advance Spectrum MAX LED Grow Light Panel for medium-to-large grow rooms.
Letting Go of Perfectionism in the Grow Room
Holding on to the idea of perfectionism can be a huge detriment to your mental well-being, especially if you’re someone with high anxiety and stress levels. It’s easy to get caught up in the need to control everything. Practicing gardening can be a great way to let go of this and work on acceptance.
Indoor gardening will allow you to embrace unpredictability. While there are elements of your grow room that you can — and should — work to control, there’s always the possibility of other factors taking over — like bugs, for instance.
There’s no such thing as a perfect garden. Once you realize this and embrace the fact that no one can have 100 percent complete control in a grow room environment, you can apply that same idea to your life as a whole. Ultimately, this mindset will allow you to let go and be more accepting.
This also ties into psychologist Carol Dweck’s concept of “fixed” and “growth” mindsets. Shifting from a fixed mindset to a growth mindset allows you to embrace life’s complications as learning opportunities. Indoor gardening is one great way to practice harnessing this perspective on a smaller scale. You’ll start to see setbacks not as failures, but as opportunities for growth!
What do long time growers recommend?
- If you want to embrace growth and learn the complexities of a hydroponic system, the 4x5ft Complete Perpetual LED Hydro Indoor Grow Tent System is a great intermediate choice. With this system, you’ll also be able to simultaneously grow maturing/flowering plants and clones/seedlings (in the attached compartment).
- Keep in mind: Though it’s good to embrace the tiny imperfections of your grow room, you should still be prepared to address any potential harmful problems. Always be equipped with the proper climate and odor control equipment, pest control, and nutrients for optimal plant growth.
Connecting to the Earth
Your connections to the outside world in general might be feeling limited right now, especially if you aren’t able to spend much time outside due to the current conditions. For a lot of folks, these are difficult and draining times, emotionally and mentally.
That's why it's a great idea to consider an indoor garden to boost your moods.
Of course, if you rent an apartment or a home with no backyard or space for plants, you might think having your own garden could prove too difficult. Thankfullly, a grow room or grow tent is a great alternative and lets you do all of your growing indoors within the limits of your space.
Indoor gardening can be a great way to counteract these feelings and improve your mood and your connections to the earth. And even if your physical space is limited, there are still ways to work around those limitations and have your very own grow room.
In a sense, having your own plants in an indoor grow room allows you to bring the outside inside! Indoor gardening is a safe and fun way to foster connections with nature.
If you don’t have access to an outdoor garden, you can use a grow room, grow tent, or greenhouse to get the same effect. When you grow your own plants, vegetables, and flowers, you may find that you feel more grounded and connected to the earth, and in turn feel better mentally and emotionally. Not to mention, once you see your harvests, you'll get a rewarding sense of satisfaction.
What do long time growers recommend?
- If you’re limited on space, we recommend going with a grow kit or grow tent that’ll be suitable for your surroundings. A grow kit like the 2x4ft LED Soil Complete Indoor Grow Tent System is a fine choice.
- Alternatively, if you’re just looking to grow small plants, clones or seedlings, a tent like the Yield Lab 32" x 32" x 24" Reflective Grow Tent is a good start.
Indoor Gardening Promotes Mindfulness and Attention
Mindfulness is a technique often used in meditation and therapy that consists of focusing on the present moment in order to reduce anxiety, stress, and depression. This promotes relaxation and a more grounded outlook on life. Often, mindfulness involves focusing on small acts and motions throughout your day.
In meditation, mindfulness can mean counting your breaths or honing in on how different parts of your body feel. In your everyday life, though, you can simply pay more attention to whatever activity you’re doing or the motions you’re carrying out. The idea is that you will be present in the moment rather than getting caught up in unhelpful thoughts.
Indoor gardening is a great way to practice mindfulness because of the attention it requires. Spending some peace and quiet in your grow room, caring for your plants, and going through the processes involved can prove to be a very peaceful and therapeutic hobby. Practicing mindfulness can increase your overall happiness and satisfaction with your life and keep your anxious or negative thoughts at bay.
Even putting together your very own grow room can help promote mindfulness. This is because planning out the perfect grow room for your plants, and then ultimately putting it all together, requires you to focus your attention on multiple small tasks. And in the end, you’ll have your very own grow room and then eventually your very own plants.
- Check out our Indoor Grower’s Checklist to see exactly what you should be looking for when putting together your grow room.
- Once you’re good to go and are ready to build your grow space, be sure to read our guide on How to Convert Your Bedroom into a Grow Room.
Mindfulness and gardening can also help improve your attention span. One study from the American Journal of Public Health observed the effect of natural settings on children with ADHD and found that their ADHD symptoms significantly decreased when they spent time in nature.
Even if you don’t have ADHD, any amount of attention issues can be reduced by exposure to greenery, especially in combination with mindfulness. This could help you improve at work or even just make focusing while reading a book or watching a movie a lot easier and more enjoyable!
Growing Your Own Food
Growing your own food can not only make you feel more grounded and connected to the earth, but it can also bring feelings of great productivity and gratitude. It’s overall a very rewarding experience to provide for yourself in this way.
On top of that, you’ll also be eating healthy, fresh food, which has been proven to significantly help your mental health! Studies have shown that eating healthier can even help to reduce depression. And because you’re cutting out all of the unnatural pesticides and grow mediums, you can grow the healthiest food you’ve ever eaten.
Our bodies and minds are absolutely connected, so it makes sense that nourishing our bodies with healthy food that we’ve grown ourselves can be beneficial to our mental and emotional health.
What do long time growers recommend?
- Vitamin-boosting nutrients like the Dyna-Gro Foliage Pro 9-3-6 will help your fruits and veggies grow strong and healthy.
- Sweeteners like the FlavorFul - Humboldt Nutrients will help your plants produce the best flavors — because it doesn’t get much better than eating food that both tastes good and is good for you!
Connecting to Others
A lot of people are experiencing extreme loneliness and isolation during these times. It can feel hard to connect with others, which can cause feelings of depression and helplessness.
Picking up a hobby like indoor gardening can open up a world of meaningful connections and friendships with people who would otherwise be strangers. Even in the current state of the world, which makes real life connections harder to carry out, finding niche communities online can benefit your mental health.
Gardening is one of the best and easiest things to bond over — you can have a nearly instant connection with other gardeners because of your shared experience! There are endless things to talk about, from techniques to species to the simple joy of it all. Not to mention, if you’re having a hard time with your grow, rest assured there’s a community of folks out there willing to share their tips for success in the grow room.
In addition, for any families, friends, or roommates that are currently feeling too isolated in the current climate, sharing a grow space is a great way to bond and strengthen a relationship.
Indoor Gardening and Mental Health
As you can probably tell by now, the benefits of starting an indoor garden are practically endless!
No matter what sort of issues you’re facing mentally, the art of indoor gardening can help you a great deal. Even if it’s just from the simple burst of green it can add to your life, growing and cultivating your own plants in an indoor grow room or grow tent will help boost your mood noticeably.
From caring for a small succulent to maintaining a whole grow room filled with fruits, vegetables, and other plants, practicing indoor gardening will leave you feeling more relaxed, less stressed, and simply happier in life.