Gardening keeps the brain healthy in old age, new study shows

•  People who garden have better cognitive ability as pensioners than those who don’t

It’s a hobby concerned in nurturing growth and keeping often decades-old shrubs in the best of health.

Now a new study has shown that gardening can help keep the brain healthy in old age.

Groundbreaking research by Edinburgh University psychologists kept track of hundreds of Scots and their lifestyles across nearly a whole century.

And it’s found that time spent gardening may protect against the modern curse of dementia up to the age of 80, regardless of wealth and education.

The paper – published in the Journal of Environmental Psychology – concludes: ‘The mentally stimulating nature of gardening, as yet relatively unexplored, might contribute to brain reserve even in older age.

‘These results identify a promising new line of inquiry for understanding the lifestyle factors that may promote successful cognitive ageing.’

Alzheimer Scotland described the findings as ‘encouraging’.

Gillian Councill, the charity’s executive lead on brain health and innovation, said: ‘People often don’t realise the wide range of benefits gardening can bring.

‘Digging, planting and pulling weeds will increase hand strength, which research has shown can boost brain health.

‘Growing your own food can help you eat a healthier diet; another key factor.

‘And staying connected to other people is beneficial for brain health, so community allotments are a great place to socialise, reducing loneliness and isolation.’

The research team gathered data as part of a long-term survey of brain function called the Lothian Birth Cohorts.

Children born in and around Edinburgh in 1921 sat an intelligence test when aged eleven to measure their reasoning and arithmetic ability.

Hundreds of them were then traced in later life at the turn of the century and took the exact same quiz when 79.

They also gave details of their lifestyles and completed frequent assessments of their brain health up to the age of 90.

Of the 467 people tested, almost 30 per cent had never gardened in their lives, but 44 per cent still did regularly, even into old age.

The results showed a clear divide.

On average, the 280 who frequently or sometimes gardened had better cognitive ability as pensioners than they did aged eleven.

But the 187 who had never gardened or rarely did so typically had a lower test score than when they were children.

Dementia is when the brain incurably degenerates to the point where it struggles to remember, concentrate and solve problems.

It now affects nearly 100,000 Scots and are responsible for 13 per cent of all deaths.

The risk of developing the disease is raised by unhealthy lifestyles, but keeping the brain active and getting sufficient sleep are believed to help stave it off.

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