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Facebook: @The<strong>Weekender</strong>Spain<br />
23<br />
Facebook: @The<strong>Weekender</strong>Spain<br />
FRIDAY 20TH SEPTEMBER 2019 23<br />
Home&Garden<br />
Home&Garden<br />
Sponserd By<br />
Sponsored By<br />
If you have made the decision or are<br />
thinking about making the decision to<br />
go solar, then you may be wondering -<br />
how does sunlight actually gets turned<br />
into electricity?<br />
You may have other questions too,<br />
such as will your solar panels work on<br />
cloudy days, and will your panels work<br />
at night via moonlight, which, after all,<br />
is reflected sunlight? To find out the<br />
answer to these questions and a few<br />
more, please read on.<br />
Charge your<br />
home with the<br />
power of the sun<br />
A growing<br />
sense of<br />
wellbeing<br />
GARDENING is good for<br />
you. A GP surgery in Manchester<br />
has even started<br />
prescribing the practice<br />
for people grappling with<br />
anxiety and depression.<br />
Mental health charity<br />
MIND says spending time in<br />
green space or bringing nature<br />
into your everyday life<br />
can benefit both your mental<br />
and physical wellbeing.<br />
Doing things like growing<br />
food or flowers, exercising<br />
outdoors or being around animals<br />
can have lots of positive<br />
effects. It can:<br />
• improve your mood<br />
• reduce feelings of stress<br />
or anger<br />
• help you take time out<br />
and feel more relaxed<br />
• improve your physical<br />
health<br />
• improve your confidence<br />
and self-esteem<br />
• help you be more active<br />
• help you make new<br />
connections<br />
Aimee Gee from the charity,<br />
told The Guardian newspaper<br />
recently that the colours,<br />
sounds and smells of a garden,<br />
“boost our wellbeing, while<br />
nurturing a garden or allotment<br />
provides the satisfaction<br />
of completing tasks and<br />
a stronger connection with<br />
the natural environment, both<br />
of which are associated with<br />
improved self-esteem and<br />
decreased levels of anger.”<br />
Dr Philippa James, one<br />
of the GPs involved in the<br />
Manchester initiative, adds:<br />
“I've seen how our patients<br />
relax in the garden - and<br />
how they then get involved<br />
in wider events like picking<br />
litter, which all adds to pride<br />
in our area.<br />
“There’s a lot of evidence<br />
now about how two hours<br />
a week in a green space<br />
can lift mood - and then<br />
that too has physical, mental<br />
and emotional benefits.<br />
That’s something we need<br />
to harness.”<br />
Gardening is a physical<br />
activity which burns 200-500<br />
calories an hour, and helps<br />
maintain a healthy weight,<br />
reducing the risk of obesity,<br />
according to the Garden<br />
Organic Organisation.<br />
And it says the pastime is<br />
second only to weight training<br />
as an effective way to<br />
increase bone intensity.<br />
And it gets you up and<br />
moving. Just a small increase<br />
in light activity, such<br />
as a little gentle gardening,<br />
may help stave off an early<br />
death among older adults,<br />
according to recent research<br />
published in the BMJ.<br />
Digging, turning compost<br />
and raking use the upper<br />
and lower body and offer<br />
moderate intensity physical<br />
activity.<br />
Other tasks that use primarily<br />
the upper body in<br />
standing or squatting pos-<br />
tures such as hand weeding,<br />
mixing soil sowing and transplanting<br />
seedlings offering<br />
low intensity physical activity.
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