fbpx

3 Ways Houseplants Improve Your Mental Health

by | May 15, 2022 | Issue 147, Issues, Lifestyle, Mental Health | 0 comments

Keeping a houseplant isn't only a good hobby that will add beauty to any indoor space. Aside from the aesthetics, houseplants can also benefit your mental health. Plants are more...

Keeping a houseplant isn’t only a good hobby that will add beauty to any indoor space. Aside from the aesthetics, houseplants can also benefit your mental health. Plants are more than just decor or a hobby to keep; caring for them can give you a sense of purpose and help you destress.

According to a study, active interaction with indoor plants can reduce physiological and psychological stress. Taking care and nurturing houseplants involves our senses, especially touch and smell. Aside from this, houseplants can enhance your mental and emotional health in three fundamental ways. 

 

1. Houseplants Reduce Anxiety and Depression

The soil that keeps our indoor plants happy and thriving is rich with Mycobacterium vaccae, a bacterium that can trigger the release of serotonin. The more serotonin our brain releases, the less stressed and prone to depression we feel. 

 

2. Focus and Memory Retention

Enjoying the presence of nature produces a calming effect and helps us stay sharp. According to recent research from the University of Michigan, being around houseplants can improve memory retention by as much as 20%. The mere presence of plants in a workspace boosts one’s ability to maintain attention.

 

3. Increased Productivity and Creativity

Houseplants have been proven to aid in concentration, increase productivity, and boost well-being by 47%

 

Gardening Can Make You Happy

Gardening and maintaining houseplants can do wonders for your well-being. This hobby involves digging and touching the soil with bare hands with the outcome of lifting your spirits. And, when harvest time comes, you will get excited with the produce of your labor.

 

Do Houseplants Purify the Air?

Putting any indoor plant in a room can improve the ambiance, but do plants act as air purifiers? Houseplants are usually advertised or understood as natural air purifiers. The science behind this is the effect of plants on our air quality through photosynthesis. Plants convert the carbon dioxide we exhale. Therefore, houseplants can provide a promising solution to indoor air pollution.

Indoor harmful pollutants include trichloroethylene, formaldehyde, benzene, xylene and ammonia, which can cause dizziness, headaches, irritations and liver damage in high amounts. Some plants can help remove these pollutants, such as peace lilies, chrysanthemums and snake plants. 

 

A Parting Reminder

Plants can boost our mental health and make us feel better. Being amongst nature and greenery is relaxing and calming to the senses. Taking care of houseplants can also remove the harmful pollutants in the air.

Keeping and maintaining houseplants is just more than a hobby. They can make a significant impact on people’s quality of life. So, dig the soil and feel happy with your houseplants!

Ann Y

Ann Y

0 Comments