Doctors could be set to advise patients to engage in outdoor activities with garden tools in order to combat depression.
President of the Royal College of Physicians Sir Richard Thompson told the Independent that spending time pruning and planting can be more effective than prescriptions of drugs.
Indeed, celebrity gardener Rachel de Thame and mental health charity Mind launched a campaign last year to raise awareness of how working in the garden can really boost an individual's psychological wellbeing.
It was noted that direct access to sunlight is very closely linked to happiness, with research indicating that poor lighting conditions can have a negative impact on a person's appetite, body temperature and even their sex drive.
With unseasonably sunny temperatures being enjoyed across the UK at the moment, now could be a better time than ever to indulge in a spot of gardening.
Sir Richard is a member of Thrive – a charity that provides garden therapy – and asserted that one of the key benefits of the outdoor activity is its accessibility.
He specified that anyone can do it, whereas drugs are not easily accessible and can also be prohibitively expensive.
There are also physical benefits in addition to the psychological benefits, as half an hour working in the garden is said to burn around 200 calories.
Sir Richard said this makes it surprising that people are willing to pay expensive gym membership fees when almost any other physical activity is just as effective.
"I have, for some time, thought doctors should prescribe a course of gardening for people who come to them with depression or stroke," Sir Richard commented, adding: "The new commissioning structures about to be introduced might allow more innovative treatment approaches to be put in place, including the opportunity to try gardening rather than prescribe expensive drugs."
