People often have indoor plants simply because they look gorgeous. The best way to spruce up a room is to inject a dash of natural beauty. But, did you know that there are science-backed health and welling benefits to having flowers in your home? Yes. You read that right. Having indoor plants could be boosting your health. You may not even know it.
Let’s take a look at some of these benefits.
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Indoor Plants Can Improve Air Quality
We know that outdoor plants are vital for improving oxygen levels. They scrub the air, removing any contaminants. It is easier to breathe in places laden with natural plants, although we suppose that this may also be down to the lower amount of pollution.
A few decades ago, NASA wanted to put this one of the flower benefits to the test. They wanted to see whether plants could improve the air quality in confined spaces. Guess what? They did. Spaces with plants had fewer contaminants in the air than spaces with no plants.
This means that sticking some indoor plants in your home may help to keep the air cleaner. This can be great if you suffer from certain allergies.
Indoor Plants Can Reduce Stress Levels
There is some evidence that working with plants and surrounding yourself with them can reduce stress levels.
While we don’t know for sure whether stress is actually being reduced by the plants (studies haven’t looked into this too deeply). We do know that blood pressure is significantly lowered when a person has plants close to them. Since this is one of the main indicators of stress, then it can be assumed that stress levels may be reduced.
Indoor Plants Can Increase Focus Levels
One study compared plastic plants and live indoor plants.
This study discovered that those who surrounded themselves with live plants had better focus levels than those who had plastic plants near them.
The study didn’t look too deeply into why this was, sadly. It would be interesting to know why live plants have more of an impact. However, knowing that having plants near you can be beneficial for focus is good enough.
If you are studying or hard at work, then it may be wise to get a few potted plants in the room.
There Is Some Evidence That Plants Can Reduce Illness Recovery Times
A while back, a study compared recovery times between patients who were in a hospital room with plants and those in a hospital room with no plants.
This study discovered that those who were surrounded by plants during the recovery process needed less medication, dealt with less pain, and generally recovered faster from their illnesses.
We suppose it is a good thing that people will often be surrounding you with flowers to wish you a speedy recovery. Those flowers actually are helping you to heal faster!
Horticulture Can Reduce The Symptoms Of Some Mental Health Conditions
We talked a little bit about a reduction in stress levels earlier, but horticulture (i.e. tending to your plants) can potentially reduce the symptoms with all manner of different mental health conditions.
Studies have discovered that tending to your indoor plants can reduce the symptoms of depression, anxiety, and potentially dementia.
Final Thoughts – The Benefits Of Indoor Plants
Indoor plants can have a huge benefit on a person’s well-being. Just adding a few indoor flowers to your home could reduce stress and depression. They can even boost focus. If you are recovering from an illness then they may even speed up healing. On top of all of that, they look great. What’s not to love?
