Indoor Plants May Improve Your Health

Eggs in our fern

I'm sure I'm not the only one who feels bad about the deteriorating air quality recently and I chanced upon how indoor plants may help.

Researchers found that workers in a small study in Norway had less complaints of fatigue, cough, dry throat and itching when they had plants in the office. Other studies showed that with plants in buildings, their employees were more productive, had better concentration and greater work satisfaction compared to those in bare offices.

Can you guess why when you visit someone in hospital you always seem to see flowers, hampers and presents? In a randomized study, surgical patients in hospitals in rooms with plants reported less pain, anxiety, stress and fatigue than patients without indoor plants. The patients with plants also had lower blood pressure, were more satisfied with their rooms and felt more positively toward hospital staff.

In another randomized controlled trial, the same authors as the study above  breported that patients who had their appendix removed used less pain killers with plants in their rooms.

Well, clearly some evidence suggest indoor house plants and their root systems, soil etc absorb indoor pollutants benzene, trichloroethylene and even formaldehyde. Other studies suggest indoor plants produce allergens that can trigger allergic responses. So make sure your choose indoor plants that you are not allergic too.

Well, you've read that plants and flowers make hospital patients more compassionate, less anxious and less depressed as for me, I always feel happy when I receive flowers from Gino or anyone else.

References

Fjeld T, Veiersted B et al (1998). The Effect Of Indoor Foliage Plants On Health And Discomfort Symptoms Among Office Workers. Indoor Built Environ. 7: 204-209. DOI: 10.1159/00024583.

Park SH and Mattson RH (2008). Effects Of Flowers And Foliage Plants In Hospital Rooms On Patients Recovering From Abdominal Surgery. HortTechnology. 18: 4563-4568.

Park SH and Mattson RH (2009). Ornamental Indoor Plants In Hospital Rooms Enham=nced Health Outcomes Of Patients Recovering From Surgery. J Alt Complement Med. 15(9): 975-980. DOI: 10.1089/acm.2009.0075.

Nieuwenhuis M, Knight C et al (2014). The Relative Benefits Of Green Versus Lean Office Space: Three Field Experiments. J Exp Psychol Appl. 20(3): 199-214. DOI: 10.1037/xap0000024.