Grow Yourself Healthy – Improving your sleep
Illustrations: Vicki Turner

In our six-part magazine series, Grow Yourself Healthy, we're looking in detail at the ways in which gardening can improve both your mental and physical health. Enjoy the second part, about improving your sleep, in the May 2019 issue of BBC Gardeners' World Magazine, available Thursday 18 April.
Plus, discover ways to get more shut-eye, in our collection of projects and features, below.
Doing more exercise
Increasing your heart rate through physical exertion is one of the best ways to improve your sleep. Even a little pottering will help, or you might wish to try something a bit more ambitious...
Sowing seeds
Anxiety is an impediment to sleep, so try zoning out with a spot of seed sowing - it's a great way to unwind.
Growing your own crops
Grow and eat radishes, sweetcorn, tomatoes and strawberries - they all contain melatonin, which aids sleep.
Growing herbs
Before retiring for the night, use home-grown herbs such as mint and chamomile to make tea. Sniffing lavender oil or taking shop-bought valerian root remedies can also help you to sleep.
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Look out for more ways to Grow Yourself Healthy in the next four issues of BBC Gardeners’ World Magazine:
- June: Gardening for happiness
- July: Gardening for a healthy body
- August: Gardening for an active mind
- September: Gardening for a healthy gut