2. Heart health and stroke risk

Gardening may be just one way to achieve your target 2.5 hours of moderate-intensity exercise each week — but gardening provides a rewarding motivation that makes it happen, unlike a treadmill, which invites associations with hamsters in wheels. A large Stockholm study showed that regular gardening cuts stroke and heart attack risk by up to 30% for those over 60.

Raised beds can save the joints and extend possible gardening years for seniors, or for anyone wishing to garden more comfortably. Make sure to expose your limbs (without sunscreen) for just 10 minutes during midday gardening: this will give you enough vitamin D to reduce risks of heart disease, osteoporosis, and various cancers.

Those with the lowest Vitamin D levels may be doubling their risk of dying of heart disease and other causes: and in most cases, too much time spent indoors is to blame. Try for 30 minutes of gardening a day: if your schedule won’t let you fit in half an hour at a stretch, try a quick 15 minutes in the morning, and another 15 after work. The evidence is clear: too much sitting is dangerous for your health, so break it up as much as you can with little spurts of activity.