Studies Show Houseplants Improve Your Mental Health & Wellness

Plants are very important. It’s no secret plants are vital to our survival. Let's exam: food, building materials, medicine, oh and the most important of all, the process of taking carbon dioxide and transforming it into oxygen. It's not a surprise then, recent studies highlight that household plants have a direct impact on our wellness.

There are numerous reasons why having indoor plants might improve our mental health, and the most obvious is they’re nicer to see and smell. Wallpaper and carpet can't compete with living things and vibrant colors. A recent study supports this notion in its research that there is a direct correlation between the amount of care required to keep a houseplant healthy and the positive psychological effect it had in the caretaker. The researched showed, those who have extended periods of time around plants tend to have better relationships with other people and accordingly experience higher levels of happiness.

Plants Help People, Help People

Additional research found that flowering plants provide higher levels of happiness and therefore, having flowering plants around the apartment home and in the office is likely to significantly reduce stress levels. Science is science. Studies have shown that people who spend more time around plants are significantly more likely to try and help others, and often have more advanced social relationships. The logic computes, people who care for nature are more likely to care for others, reaching out to their peers and creating mutual bonds because of their common interests.

Plants Help Reduce Stress 

Natural aesthetic beauty is believed to have a relaxing effect, and keeping ornamental flowering plants around the family home is a great way to decrease stress and anxiety. As a result of the happiness derived from a home or work space that has plants in it, the likelihood of suffering from stress-related depression is lessened as well. The research supports that by having plants in your home or work place, you improve your mental health by producing peace and open spaces to your brain.

Plants Help You Remember Your Honey To-Do List

Having ornamental houseplants in the office increases memory retention and concentration. How? The calming influence of natural environments increases a person’s ability to focus on the task at hand. Going outside with nature or being around plants in your house can increase memory retention as much as twenty percent, a recent University of Michigan study reported (Sewach).

Convinced yet? Great. Here are a couple examples of ideas for great houseplants to have in your apartment home:

Spider Plant

Spider plants are a very popular indoor botanicals, and your kids are going to enjoy them because it has a cool name, spider plant They’re extremely easy to maintain, and spider plants are especially good at absorbing mold or allergens from the air and can be put to good use in places that are prone to dampness: laundry room, downstairs, and bathrooms. Spider plants are mainly low maintenance, too. Provide them with bright, indirect light and it will flourish. Water the houseplant well but do not overwater, which can lead to root rot. Good for the occasionally forgetful, spider plants prefer to dry out partially between waterings.

Snake Plant

A study of CO2 conversion in houseplants by Harvard University found that the snake plant is one of the greatest oxygen-producing plants. In case you're interested, ficus and pothos are other plants included on the list. One of the most important snake plant health benefits is it can make small contribution to remove toxic air pollutants. Outside of CO2, snake plant's can absorb benzene, formaldehyde, xylene, and toluene; all of which are cancer-causing pollutants. The snake plant is one of the easiest to care for plants out there as they can go weeks of being forgotten without losing neither shape nor healthy, vibrant look. Snake plants can thrive in environments with minimal light and water. 

See any similarities with our two plants? If you have kid visitors, we’re hopefully making it easier to get them excited! Who doesn't love plants named Spider and Snake?