Gardening Linked to Staying Sharp in Later Life, Study Finds

A study which examined the lifestyles of hundreds of older adults found that those who spent time gardening had better cognitive function in later life than those who did not.

Importantly, this was the case even when accounting for a person’s socio-economic status, time spent in education, childhood cognitive ability, health, and overall level of physical activity in older age.

Researchers say the findings provide some of the first evidence that gardening activity in older age is associated with small, but detectable, cognitive benefits over the life-course.