Get Dirty
Dirt may be the new Prozac. Working in soil raises your spirits, in part because you pick up cheerful germs while digging. University of Colorado researcher Christopher Lowry injected mice with dirt-dwelling Mycobacterium vaccae and found increased serotonin in the critters’ prefrontal cortex. Getting your own dose is as easy as taking a walk in the wilderness or planting something. You don’t need to wait until spring: even in the dead of winter you can sprout basil seeds in a pot on your sunniest windowsill. I spent my winter break on environmental planting, somewhere in Surrey; all native plants. Hawthorns (Crataegus), roses (Rosa nutkana and Rosa pisocarpa), cedars (Thuja), elderberry, willows (Salix hookeriana), spruce, pine, |
Author
Vas Sladek, B.Sc., CLHT Archives
January 2021
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