Improve Your Mental & Physical Health by Simply Adding Houseplants
Plants are pretty important. It’s no secret plants are an essential part of our survival. Think about it: food, construction materials, medicine, oh and the most important of all, taking carbon dioxide and transforming it into clean oxygen. It's no surprise then, recent studies highlight that plants in our homes have a direct impact on our mental health.
There are a number of reasons why indoor plants might improve our mental health, and general consensus is they’re better to look at and smell. Wallpaper and carpet don’t really match living things and active colors. A recent study further supports this notion in its report that there is a direct correlation between the amount of care required to keep a houseplant from dying and the positive psychological effect it had in the caretaker. The researched showed, those who share extended periods of time with plants tend to have healthier relationships with other people and consequently experience higher levels of happiness.
Fact: Plants Help People
Another study found that flowering plants provide elevated levels of happiness and therefore, keeping flowering houseplants around the home and in the workplace has the potential to significantly minimize stress levels. Science is science. Studies have shown that people who spend more time around houseplants are almost always more likely to help others, and usually have more active social relationships. It makes sense, people who care for nature are more likely to care for others, reaching out to their peers and forming strong bonds out of their common interests.
More Plants, Less Stress
Natural aesthetic beauty is known to have a relaxing effect, and including ornamental houseplants around the apartment home is a great way to lower high levels of stress and anxiety. As a result of the positive energy derived from a home or work space that has plants in it, the likeliness of suffering from stress-caused depression is decreased as well. The research supports that by having houseplants, you improve your mental health by producing peace and open spaces to your brain.
Houseplants Help You Remember Your Honey To-Do List
Having ornamental plants in the office improves memory retention and concentration. How? Natural environments produce a calming influence which increases a person’s ability to focus on the task at hand. Going outside with nature or being around houseplants inside can improve memory retention as much as twenty percent, a recent University of Michigan research project showed (Sewach).
Convinced? Great. Here are two examples of ideas for great plants to have in your home:
Spider Plant
One of the most popular indoor botanicals is the spider plant, and your friends are going to love them because it has a cool name, spider plant They’re extremely easy to maintain, and spider plants are especially good at absorbing allergens or mold from the air and will work wonders in parts of the house that are prone to dampness: laundry room and bathrooms. Spider plants are fairly low maintenance, too. Offer them with bright, indirect light and they will flourish. Water the houseplant well but do not water it too much to the point of it becoming soggy, which can lead to root rot. Good for the occasionally forgetful, spider plants prefer to dry out partially between waterings.
Snake Plant
A study of CO2 conversion in plants by Harvard University observed that the snake plant is one of the most oxygen-producing plants. In case you're interested, ficus and pothos are other plants on the list. One of the best snake plant health benefits is snake plant's can make small and ongoing contribution to remove toxic air pollutants. Other than CO2, snake plant's can absorb benzene, formaldehyde, xylene, and toluene; all of which are cancer-causing pollutants. The snake plant is one of the most tolerant plants out there as it can withstand weeks of neglect without losing neither shape nor vibrant look. It can thrive in environments with minimal light and water.
See any similarities with our two houseplants? If you have kids, we’re hopefully making it easier to get them excited! Who gets Spider and who gets Snake?