Indoor plants, once the rulers of homes in the 1970's, are making a comeback for all the right reasons. Not only do indoor plants have an obvious aesthetic value, the real power of indoor plants comes from the mulititude of benefits they provide in both the home and office situation.
Indoor plants have always been popular and many are timeless additions to the home or office playing an important role in creating a tranquil, peaceful indoor environment. It’s recent research into the health benefits of indoor plants that really prove the value that they give to any indoor area and our own lifestyles. These benefits range from cleaner air through to proven psychological, mental health and workplace improvement benefits.
Plants make you happy
Scientific tests have shown that indoor plants quite simply have the ability to make you happy. Studies around the psychological benefits of indoor plants have shown they help with increased self esteem, an improved mood and sense of well being and help reduce the effects of anxiety and depression. Most studies have also shown that plants help reduce stress and make people feel calmer and more positive in an indoor environment.
Plants clean the air
Simply through photosynthesis, plants help clean the air that we breath inside. Indoor plants have been scientifically proven to improve indoor air quality by removing VOC’s (Volatile Organic Compounds). VOC’s are compounds released by plastics, synthetics, computers, printers and furniture items and they contribute to headaches, eye, nose and throat problems in humans. Indoor plants consistently remove VOC’s over a 24 hour period and also exchange CO2 (carbon dioxide) from the air and replace it with Oxygen. C02 is main contributor to drowsiness and poor concentration.
By cleaning the air consistently, plants help with a multitude of common household or workplace ailments as well, colds and coughs, allergys, dry skin, insomnia… the list goes on!
With so many benefits, this is just scratching the surface, it sounds like its time to revisit the humble houseplant again. While some plants are better than others for absorbing pollutants, all plants have properties that are useful for improving indoor air quality. So it sounds like time to get some plants into your house, breathe clean and feel tip top everyday.
Next... we will discuss the benefits of Indoor plants, specifically in the workplace.