How a Garden Shed Lowers Blood Pressure
You may wonder, exactly, how a garden shed lowers blood pressure. It’s almost a long-standing joke that the average married man is in the shed just when his wife needs him to do some chores or run an errand, but a recent article makes a serious point of this and suggests that having a bolt-hole such as the potting shed is a good way for a man to reduce his blood pressure and hence live longer.
It says:
“The therapeutic effect of pottering around doing odd jobs relieves stress, which lowers blood pressure, and even boosts self-esteem.”
“Leeds Metropolitan University’s Alan White – the first professor of men’s health – believes the effects could add years to a man’s life.”
“He told the Telegraph: ‘Men find doing things relaxing and that in itself is good for their health. There’s a sense of achievement that men get from starting a task and seeing it through to completion. It’s good for self-esteem.’ The concept of the sheds scheme came from Australia and it is being backed in this country by the Men’s Health Forum, as well as other voluntary organisations.”
Interestingly there have been several favourable comments from wives of husbands with garden sheds, such as
“My hubby has his shed where he goes and sits and admires his Italian girlfriend, think her name is April or something like that. Jealous, no….gives me a break from his Alf Garnet impressions.”
Interestingly there have been several favourable comments from wives of husbands with garden sheds, such as
“My hubby has his shed where he goes and sits and admires his Italian girlfriend, think her name is April or something like that. Jealous, no….gives me a break from his Alf Garnet impressions.”
And some slightly less favourable ones such as
“although it’s lovely when my husband potters for a few hours in the shed it bloomin annoys me that he regards pottering as a household chore!! His excuse to do nothing!!!!!!”
It is certainly true that there is a good deal of stress in our day to day lives and a man often needs to let off steam or wind down a bit in the evening after work or at weekends.
Whereas some men like to go for a jog, walk the dog, or work off their frustrations in the squash court, there are probably just as many who prefer to potter about, doing odd jobs in the shed or garden, and wind down more gently.
Whichever way we choose to do it we do need some time to ourselves, to get away from the daily grind for a while. We need time to sit and muse, to collect our thoughts, reflect on life, and indeed just to relax.
This is how a garden shed lowers blood pressure, by giving us the refuge from stress that we must have to avoid a risk to our health. Perhaps a shed with a bar, a comfy sofa, and Sky TV is the absolute answer!
