Add some greenery for these surprising health benefits.
Ashley Braun
Whether at home or work, most people spend the majority of their lives indoors. Despite spending less time outside, there is still a strong connection between humans and the outdoors.
For those working in an office, the simplicity of adding a little green to their surroundings could help; a whopping 97% of people would prefer to have more plants in their workplace. Although not everyone has a beautiful scenic view outside of their offices or home windows, adding indoor plants can help make up for that!
Viewing and caring for plants has a wide variety of health benefits—from boosting your mood to helping you focus—which is all the more reason to add a little greenery indoors.
Looking for an easy way to improve your mood? Simply interacting with indoor plants promoted more comfortable and soothed feelings throughout the day.
Indoor plants help to slow the activity of the sympathetic nervous system—the part of the nervous system that responds to stress by preparing you to fight or run away—helping to reduce anxiety.
This helps with anxiety both before and after you are exposed to a stressor, making greenery a fun way to lower your body’s response to stress and overall anxiety.
Yes, being around indoor plants can help you recover more quickly from emotional stress and reduce the symptoms of anxiety!
Another showed that, with greenery around, employees completed a test 19% faster.
This increased productivity is even found in classrooms. Simply adding plants into the classroom helped children progress about 20% faster through their curriculum.
This isn’t just speculation; plant diversity boosts creativity. Workplace design and the addition of indoor plants has been shown to increase creativity, innovative ideas, and help with problem solving.
Indoor plants help here too by lowering stress, and are even linked to better recovery after surgery. The patients in one study reported lower stress levels and better overall health than patients who didn’t have plants in their hospital room.
Time spent in natural settings and viewing greenery reduces fatigue, helping you to concentrate for longer periods of time. An added bonus is improved memory when around plants.
A sense of pride comes from keeping a plant alive and studies show gardening can help people reach self-esteem goals in therapy through identifying with the growth of the plant.
Likely the fun of adding plants is part of the reason behind the benefits indoor plants have on your mood, stress levels, and concentration.
Some research shows that plants can help lower pollution levels and increase humidity. This may help reduce symptoms of allergies, headaches, and irritation from dry air or air pollution.
People diagnosed with depression or PTSD reported identifying with the growth of the plants they cared for, helping them to see opportunities for their own growth. Participating in gardening also helped patients with dementia and they saw improvements in aggressive behaviors and mental capacity.