Can Mowing the Lawn Make You Happier?

Actually, weirdly, yes. Let’s take a look at three ways this chore can help drive a sense of happiness, shall we?

Reason #1: Benefits to Mental and Physical Health

In this section I will, perhaps slightly presumptuously, make the claim that good health and wellness positively correlate with happiness. If you disagree with this, I would love to hear from you in the comments! (Just kidding; I wouldn’t.=)

Two studies highlight how physical activity impacts both mental and physical well-being:

a) You may have heard the phrase “sitting is the new smoking,” and it turns out it might be true. A study entitled Sedentary Behaviors Increase Risk of Cardiovascular Disease Mortality in Men found that sedentary behaviors increase the risk of cardiovascular disease mortality in men (don’t you just love such descriptive titles?!). They noted that physical inactivity is associated with increased risk of morbidity and worsening of many chronic diseases and health conditions. Even if you have a ride-along mower, the very act of doing yard work outside—along with all it entails—can play a role in living more healthfully.

b) It has long been assumed that physical activity positively impacts mental health, but now we have the data to support it. In the study Association Between Physical Exercise and Mental Health in 1.2 Million Individuals[…] researchers noted that individuals who engaged in physical activity, like mowing the lawn, had 43.2% fewer days of poor mental health in the past month than individuals who did not exercise. The results speak for themselves.

Reason #2: Zen and the Art of Mowing the Lawn

There are many readers who will gasp at the idea that mowing the lawn can be meditative. Depending on the day, I myself am one of those people. I’m not suggesting you sit cross-legged on your ride-along and start humming om, but here are a few things to keep in mind to make mowing the lawn more mindful and enjoyable:

• Think of mowing the lawn not as a chore or hassle, but as a chance to connect with yourself and nature.
• Plan to mow when you’re not crunched for time. This will make the experience more enjoyable instead of something to rush through.
• Gas-powered mowers can hit upwards of 90 decibels, so use noise-canceling headphones or earplugs while you mow. The Grateful Dead want a piece of those eardrums too!
• Your yard is a wonderland… and you paid a lot of money for it. Enjoy it!

Whether or not mowing the lawn can make you happier is, in many respects, dependent on the attitude with which you approach it.

Reason #3: Smell the Roses

In a seven-year-long study at The University of Queensland’s School of Biomedical Science, researchers observed the effects of smelling freshly cut grass and trees and its relation to stress. They found, somewhat remarkably, that these scents reduced stress and may potentially slow the aging of the brain.

In short, their research suggests that when you breathe in the scents of freshly cut grass, plants, and trees, your amygdala (emotion) and hippocampus (memory) are stimulated in a way that can boost memory and relieve stress—thereby reinforcing the claim of slowing the brain’s aging.

Dr. Nick Lavidis, the neuroscientist who led the study, even bottled these findings into an eau de grass spray called Serenascent. He claims that the spray—which supposedly smells like the forest—is able to mimic the positive benefits of being in nature.