5 Ways Indoor Plants Improve your Mental Health and Well Being  

No home is complete without some gorgeous greenery. And while some of us are lucky enough to have backyards or balconies, most of us need—and want—to bring the outdoors in with houseplants. Not only do houseplants make any room spring to life but they are all the rage in home décor.  

Plants help purify the air in your home while adding a cozy, vibrant element to your interior. However, beyond aesthetics, having a few plants scattered around your home is also proven to provide some important benefits to your emotional well-being. Below, we’ve rounded up our favorite indoor plants that will turn your home into a stylish sanctuary as well as the benefits they provide!   

Lowers Anxiety & Stress: Multiple small studies have analyzed the relationship between being near indoor plants and lower stress levels. A 2015 study in the Journal of Physiological Anthropology found that interacting with indoor plants may reduce psychological and physiological stress. Another study from Japan concluded that even just gazing at a plant on your work desk may reduce anxiety levels. If you want to add a little bit of greenery to your desk but you don’t get good sunlight, try something that tolerates low light, like sansevieria (snake plant) or a pet-friendly spider plant. There is also evidence that keeping flowers in your home may help you feel happier, more relaxed, and less stressed. 

Better Concentration & Memory: Being around plants may be good for your concentration at home and in the workplace. Many studies suggest that plants have a calming effect. This may help with your ability to focus on a task and memory retention. A study from the University of Michigan found that spending time outside around plants can increase memory retention by up to 20 percent. Ornamental plants have also been shown to create a positive learning environment for children. 

Boosts Creativity: Interacting with plants, especially before taking on a creative task, may get that creative mind going. A 2015 study found that biophilic design in the workplace can help to increase creativity by up to 15 percent. The majority of studies related to plants sparking creativity are school or workplace-related, but advocates of plants in the workplace have acknowledged the connection between environment and overall wellbeing. So, not only could some foliage help you stress less, think clearly, and spark creativity in the workplace, but you may also find similar benefits from keeping plants at home. Flowers also have a creativity-sparking effect, according to a 2003 study conducted by researchers at Texas A&M University. So if you’re wary of your ability to keep your green children alive, then try keeping a vase of fresh-cut flowers at your desk (and you totally deserve to buy yourself flowers). 

Increases Productivity: Need something to help keep you motivated during the day? Having plants around may help you to get the job done (whatever “the job” is in your case). In a study of three offices, employees said that they felt more productive when their space included plants. This feeds into multiple other studies around keeping plants in the workplace. A 1996 study published in the Journal of Environmental Horticulture had similar findings. 

Promotes Healing: Sending flowers or a plant to someone in recovery helps to brighten up their space—but some researchers believe it could help to speed up the healing process, too. A 2009 study found that surgery patients in recovery experienced lower pain, anxiety, and fatigue when they had plants in their room. Patients also reported positive feelings about their recovery room, speaking to how just being around plants can uplift your mood. 

 

Our Favorite Indoor Plants  

• Snake Plant 
• ZZ Plant 
• Philodendron 
• Money Tree 
• Pothos 

 

If your home is lacking something but you aren’t sure what our team of design experts are here to help! We invite you to let us come in and redesign your home, one room at a time, contact us today!