What science tells us about the mood-boosting effects of indoor plants (2024)
Listen
Comment
Gift
Article
Share
When Hannan Braun felt stressed at work, he would treat himself to a houseplant. “At one point, I think I had well over a hundred plants,” said Braun, who lived in a studio apartment and was working on the front lines of the pandemic in Boston, “but it never looked cluttered or felt like I had too many.” For Braun, indoor plants have been a lifeline for dealing with the stress of medical training during the pandemic. Surrounding himself with lush greenery always calmed him down, he said, and helped him feel rejuvenated.
WpGet the full experience.Choose your planArrowRight
“Different properties of plants, such as how they look, smell and feel, impact us in so many ways,” said Mengmeng Gu, an associate professor of horticultural sciences at Texas A&M University. “They can feel good to the touch, make a space more fragrant and please our eyes.”
But how and why do plants have such positive effects on us? Here’s a look at research over the past few decades that has shown how houseplants affect our psychological and physical health.
10 low-maintenance houseplants you are very unlikely to kill
People and plants are naturally connected. Humans have an inherent connection to plants and other living things, according to what’s known as the biophilia hypothesis, an idea popularized in 1984 by naturalist and writer E.O. Wilson. Since then, more than three decades of research spanning the globe have confirmed the hypothesis and shown that natural environments have a sizable effect on increasing positive emotions and decreasing negative ones.
“When people state the common belief that being in nature relaxes them, that it helps them recover from stress and tragedy, that it’s a healing process to be in nature, we now know there’s a solid basis for that,” Wilson said in a 2015 interview with The Washington Post.
And when people started spending more time indoors, we brought in pieces of the natural world to continue feeling connected.
Plants can quickly improve mood. Our connection to plants is so strong that sometimes it takes only a few minutes of being in their presence to start feeling better. Studies have found that less than 20 minutes is enough to make us feel more at peace. In one experiment, participants who spent even five to 10 minutes in a room with a few houseplants felt happier and more satisfied than those in a room without plants. In another study, participants felt more peaceful and positive after spending 15 minutes in a room close to a tall plant (about five feet) compared with other objects.
Advertisem*nt
However, Gu reminds us that “it is not only seeing a plant that improves our mood so quickly, but the smells can also make a huge difference,” although studies on plants’ effects on nonvisual senses are limited.
Plants bring relief in enclosed spaces. If you are stuck in an office or other small space for hours at a time, plants can bring about feelings of escape. In a study conducted during pandemic stay-at-home orders, participants who had indoor plants experienced significantly fewer symptoms of depression and anxiety than those who did not. Being surrounded by houseplants led to feelings of “being away” from social or physical demands.
Houseplants awaken in spring. Here’s how to care for them.
Plants can reduce stress. Other studies have shown that interacting with plants suppresses the system in our bodies that gets activated when we sense distress signals. Young adults in one study who spent a few minutes repotting and transplanting an indoor plant reported feeling a lot less stressed at the end of the task compared with peers engaged in a computer-based activity. In addition, blood pressure measurements were much lower among people who handled plants, suggesting that plants have the potential to mellow the body’s fight-or-flight response.
Plants can recharge us. “Plants also have a huge restorative capacity,” said Melinda Knuth, an assistant professor of horticultural science at North Carolina State University. “Whether it’s outdoors like in a yard or indoors with houseplants, nature can help us feel recharged and grounded.”
When we focus on demanding activities for a long time, such as our jobs, it can lead to mental fatigue and negative emotions that can affect how well we can pay attention. Seeing a plant in this situation can provide a spark of interest, redirect our attention, and restore our depleted mental and physical resources, an idea known as attention restoration theory. Studies have found that the plant-induced “restoration” effect has a wide reach: renewing positive emotions and increasing productivity, creativity and attention capacity.
How do you choose what houseplants to buy? Research can provide some practical guidance:
Advertisem*nt
Number of plants:Although there is no magic number, having five or more foliage plants can increase positive emotions. For example, in one study, participants in a room with bamboo palms, Chinese evergreens and heart-leaf philodendrons (five in total) felt more carefree and friendly compared with those in rooms without plants. Alternatively, one tall potted plant (about five feet) or three or more small floral displays (such as sweet pea, larkspurs or woodland sage) can elicit similarly positive responses.
Color: The greener, the better? In a study using English ivy, green-yellow and bright-green leaves increased feelings of cheerfulness and relaxation, whereas whitish-green leaves stimulated mostly negative emotions. As for flowering plants, a study found that purple, green, red, pink and white ones could lower people’s blood pressure and heart rate. However, purple and green flowers were more effective in relaxing the body, reducing anxiety and improving mood. Another study found that red and yellow roses elicited a more calming response than white ones.
11 houseplants that work well in small spaces
Real vs. artificial:In an indoor space, having any type of greens — including photographs of plants — is better than having none at all. However, real plants have a greater mood, attention and relaxation effect than faux plants. The same applies for real vs. faux flowers. In a study of high school students, participants looking at real pansies for three minutes felt more relaxed and comfortable than those looking at artificial ones. Gu’s point about mood effects beyond visual cues may help explain these findings.
Advertisem*nt
Placement:Although research on this is sparse, some studies suggest that having plants closer than 10 feet to a person has a positive mood effect. A study by Knuth of North Carolina State shows that most people put houseplants in living rooms, bedrooms and sometimes kitchens. With the expansion of working from home, placing plants in home offices or other work areas can be helpful.
It’s important to remember the caveats of many of these studies: Some were carried out in highly controlled settings and primarily among college students. They reflect snapshots of time rather than long-term effects. And their real-world implications for a more varied group of people — for example, among older adults or those in low-resource environments — may be different. But it’s hard to ignore the volume of research showing that houseplants have a significantly positive effect on mood and physical health. So, as we find ourselves spending more time indoors — whether because of the pandemic, work or weather — perhaps it’s time to pick up some houseplants.
Lala Tanmoy Das is an MD-PhD student in New York City doing research in molecular cardiology. Find him on Twitter: @TanmoyDasLala.
Anti-aging ‘superfoods’ aren’t enough. Try one of these healthy overall eating plans.December 17, 2021Anti-aging ‘superfoods’ aren’t enough. Try one of these healthy overall eating plans.December 17, 2021
Thousands who ‘followed the rules’ are about to get covid. They shouldn’t be ashamed.December 22, 2021Thousands who ‘followed the rules’ are about to get covid. They shouldn’t be ashamed.December 22, 2021
Do dreams mean anything? Why do I feel like I’m falling? Or wake up paralyzed? We asked experts.December 30, 2021Do dreams mean anything? Why do I feel like I’m falling? Or wake up paralyzed? We asked experts.December 30, 2021
“Studies have shown that indoor plants can improve focus, decrease depressive moods and lessen symptoms of anxiety,” says Garvey. “When your mind and body are relaxed, it can improve your blood pressure, heart rate and cortisol levels.”
Studies have found that less than 20 minutes is enough to make us feel more at peace. In one experiment, participants who spent even five to 10 minutes in a room with a few houseplants felt happier and more satisfied than those in a room without plants.
From research on the benefits of gardening, we can assume that caring for houseplants will bring out many more emotional benefits – such as pride, social connection, satisfaction, fascination, mental resilience in times of stress, and may even help you heal from past trauma.
Overall, adding flowers to your home or work environment reduces your perceived stress levels and makes you feel more relaxed, secure, and happy. Flowers can help you achieve a more optimistic outlook on your life, bringing you both pleasing visual stimulation and helping you to increase your perceived happiness.
Houseplants are good for your health — and not just for their visual beauty. Why? They essentially do the opposite of what we do when we breathe: release oxygen and absorb carbon dioxide. This not only freshens up the air, but also eliminates harmful toxins.
Caring for plants can reduce physiological and psychological stress as compared with mental work. This may be because caring for plants suppresses sympathetic nervous system activity and promotes comfortable, relaxed, and natural feelings.
Being around plants and nature lowers stress and helps combat anxiety and depression. Plants improve physical health too, reducing blood pressure and improving indoor air quality. The calming effect of houseplants benefits everyone, but if you struggle with depression, you might get even more out of them.
Surrounding yourself with plants indoors helps to trigger the same chemical response in our brain on a smaller scale, releasing serotonin – also known as 'the happy hormone' – which lifts our mood in a completely natural way. Researchers have even identified microbes (M.
Plants do not. Plants may exhibit reactions to stimuli, and we sometimes interpret these responses as defensive behavior, but we're really talking about successful adaptations to their environment. Plants have neither nervous systems nor neuro-transmitting pain receptors.
Not only do indoor plants enhance the overall appearance of a space, but studies show they boost moods, increase creativity, reduce stress, and eliminate air pollutants—making for a healthier, happier you. Indoor plants don't just look good—they can make us feel good, too.
"It's a rewarding feeling when you see your plants grow and start sprouting new babies,” says Chapman. “They look good and it's therapeutic, fun and you know what you're doing is good for the environment - so it's a win, win scenario.”
A bedroom with plants is far better than one without. They help in purifying the air, relieve stress, boost your creative side, and much more. People often forget how important fresh air is; keeping plants in the bedroom can help you get rid of toxic gasses as they filter the air thoroughly.
When a knife edge cuts a rhubarb stalk, thousands of genes are activated, and stress hormones are released. Unlike humans, plants can not feel pain, but they still react strongly to mechanical stimuli from human touch, hungry animals, wind and rain, for example.
But why do Millennials love houseplants and what has them buying more than ever? Health and wellness are important to the Millennial generation, which makes plants a natural draw. Plants are known to make healthier spaces for people to inhabit by helping to purify the air, boost one's mood, and lower stress levels.
Plant seeds under the influence of the positive words had a higher germination rate, and these plants grew taller, larger, and healthier than that in negative environment.
The greatest concentration of serotonin in plants has been found in walnuts and hickory. In pineapples, banana, kiwi fruit, plums and tomatoes the concentration of serotonin is around 3 to 30 mg/kg. In general, vegetables contain moderate levels of serotonin, at around 0.1 to 3 mg/kg.
While a few pretty plants aren't going to cure someone with winter depression, green plants can certainly help make people feel a bit better. ... The Best Plants for Seasonal Depression
Growing scented flowering plants, such as Lilacs, Lavender or Jasmine, can help you improve your mood, sleep better, and ease other depression symptoms.
Its sweet smell helps soothe the mind and relieves anxiety, stress, and its mesmerizing fragrance has sedative properties that help induce sleep. A study showed that having a lavender plant around helped calm agitated babies and put them to sleep.
Constantly seeing and being around plants helps people feel more calm and relaxed, thus decreasing levels of anxiety. Increases attentiveness and memory. Being around plants, whether at home or work, helps improve memory and attention span by 20 percent and can increase concentration.
Snake plants, spider plants, rubber plants, peace lilies, ferns, and English ivy are some of the best indoor plants for boosting oxygen levels and purifying the air.
Snake Plant. Sansevieria trifasciata, also known as the snake plant or mother-in-law's tongue, is an evergreen perennial (meaning it grows in all seasons) identified by its pointed leaves, growing up to 4 feet tall. ...
Dopamine is found at high concentrations in potato (Solanum tuberosum) plants, the spathes of Araceae inflorescences, as well as the pulp of yellow banana (Musa acuminata), red banana (Musa sapientum), plantain (Plantago major) and fuerte avocado (Persea americana). The role of dopamine in plants is poorly documented.
Aside from eating foods high in tryptophan, exercise, light therapy, and a high fiber diet are all good ways to naturally boost your serotonin levels and overall mood. Probiotic supplements may also help. Additionally, engaging in activities such as yoga or mindfulness can provide mental health benefits.
Your plants really dislike when you touch them, apparently. A new study out of the La Trobe Institute for Agriculture and Food has found that most plants are extremely sensitive to touch, and even a light touch can significantly stunt their growth, reports Phys.org.
Empaths may feel the physical pain of others due to this intense physical empathy. 8. Plant empath: A plant empath (also called a flora empath) senses the needs of plants around them. Much like an animal empaths find themselves working with or owning animals, plant empaths may feel called to work with plants.
It's something that plant lovers have long suspected, but now Australian scientists have found evidence that plants really can feel when we're touching them.
A Plant in the bedroom can absorb harmful gases through the pores in their leaves, filtering and cleaning the air you breathe every day. Not only do bedroom plants have many health benefits, but they also add a nice touch of decor and bright energy to any indoor space.
Is it ok to put plants in the bathroom? If you choose the right variety, then yes! In fact, bathroom plants have a number of benefits. They can purify the air, bring greenery and nature into one of our more sterile rooms, eliminate bacteria and absorb extra moisture.
The word is sometimes said to be synonymous with "botanist" or "horticulturist", but that would indicate a professional involvement, whereas "plantsman" reflects an attitude to (and perhaps even an obsession with) plants. A horticulturist may be a plantsman, but a plantsman is not necessarily a horticulturist.
"Since plants are really active and represent growth, they may not be great for such a passive, restful, quiet room," explains feng shui master and mbg class instructor Dana Claudat.
So, how many plants do you need to purify a room? You'd need 10 plants per square foot in your home to enjoy any impact on indoor air quality. Let's break that down: For a 320 square-foot room, you'd need 3,200 plants for that room alone.
Wolverton says that, absent expensive testing, it's impossible to guess how many plants might be needed to clean a room of its contaminants. But he usually recommends at least two “good sized” plants per 100 square feet of interior space.
If a drought-parched plant lets out a scream, but it's at a frequency too high to hear, does it count as a cry of distress? According to a study posted on the preprint server bioRxiv last week, the answer could very well be yes.
Researchers at Tel-Aviv University have found plants making airborne emission of ultrasound screams when subjected to stress. They suspect that the sounds are generated by a process called cavitation. The sound may be alerting other plants nearby.
Do Plants React to Human Voices? Here's the good news: plants do respond to the sound of your voice. In a study conducted by the Royal Horticultural Society, research demonstrated that plants did respond to human voices.
Indoor plants offer two potential benefits for us: improved psychological (mental) well-being and improved physical human health (i.e. they support fitness and general health). The psychological benefits of indoor plants have been shown as: An improved mood. Reduced stress levels.
Plants provide economic, environmental and health benefits that sustains life on Earth. They are integral to human well-being providing food, fiber, medicine, feed & forage, industrial material and ornamental and cultural services.
This is probably the most widely-known benefit of owning indoor plants. The plants you have in your home or office remove toxins and pollutants from the air you breathe (and even convert them into energy), working as natural air purifiers.
Snake Plant. Sansevieria trifasciata, also known as the snake plant or mother-in-law's tongue, is an evergreen perennial (meaning it grows in all seasons) identified by its pointed leaves, growing up to 4 feet tall. ...
For most plants playing classical or jazz music caused growth to increase, while harsher metal music induced stress. This may be because the vibrations of metal music are too intense for plants and stimulate cells a little too much. We think of this like massaging your plant with a song – they prefer a gentler touch.
A study by garden expert David Domoney found that people overwhelmingly favored Lily of the Valley as a mood-boosting plant, mostly because they associated the fragrant blooms with happy memories.
Want cleaner and better air in the bathroom? Plants can help with that, too. “NASA researchers have reported that a group of common house plants can remove or scrub indoor air of various pollutants” said Dr.
Plants can reduce feelings of anxiety and depression
A 2007 study found a bacterium in plant soil called Mycobacterium vaccae that triggers the release of serotonin, which lifts mood and reduces anxiety. Therefore, interaction with indoor or outdoor plants can alleviate symptoms of depression.
Introduction: My name is Kimberely Baumbach CPA, I am a gorgeous, bright, charming, encouraging, zealous, lively, good person who loves writing and wants to share my knowledge and understanding with you.
We notice you're using an ad blocker
Without advertising income, we can't keep making this site awesome for you.
