Why Do Plants Improve Your Health At Home
If you haven’t got plants in your home, you’re missing out. As well as the seemingly never-ending list of scientific benefits they bring, they also look gorgeous. So pop down to your local garden centre, pick up a few plants to pop around the house and transform a space in your home. Need more persuasion? Here are five reasons why having plants in your home are important for your health and environment at home.
1. You’ll get a better night sleep.
There are plants that emit oxygen at night and are also known to remove harmful chemicals such as xylene, trichloroethylene, toluene, benzene and formaldehyde from the air that surrounds you. Formaldehyde is found in hairspray and nail polish, so during the night time, this is removed from the air helping you get a better night sleep.
Want to know the science behind it? Plants survive through a process called photosynthesis. During the day, they release oxygen and then take the oxygen and release carbon dioxide during the night due to respiration. However, some plants release oxygen 24 hours a day through a special ability to perform a certain type of photosynthesis called Crassulacean Acid Metabolism (CAM).
It is known that not all plants give off oxygen at night, however, plants such as aloe vera, snake plants and neem tree release plenty for you to enjoy a good night sleep.
2. It’s a way to freshen your home without using nasty chemicals.
Plants unlike spray air fresheners, are a natural way to purify the scent of your home. Synthetic furniture, paints and computers quietly pump chemical vapours into the air whilst the heating system pumps up dry air.
Removing chemicals such as formaldehyde from the air (PLANTS DO THIS), results in a lovely smelling home all by just adding a few plants here and there. This then means that home-owners reduce chemical use in their homes by using a natural species that does the same job.
The best plants to do this are Boston Ferns, Rubber Plants, Peace Lily and Golden Pothos. Adding onto this cleaning routine, plants that make the air smell fresh include Florists’ Mum, Gerbera Daisies and Tulips. Sound good?
3. It can help relieve anxiety.
House plants for anxiety help alleviate symptoms because they promote higher quality air. For decades, lavender has been associated with being a natural anxiety treatment and to add to this, research has even proven lavender to lower heart rate, blood pressure as well as stress levels.
Furthermore, Sago Palm is an air purifying plant that adds moisture into the atmosphere to remove toxins that increase worry, stress and anxiety. The best thing is that Sago Palm is incredibly easier to care for.
4. They improve your focus
Studies have shown that plants increase your attentiveness as the increased oxygen in the air refreshes the air - and you! One study proved that having a plant in the room that you work in increases concentration and productivity by 10-15%.
A Norwegian team tested this when issuing an attention task that required participants to read several sentences and then remember the final word in each. The team compared sitting at a wooden desk with nothing around it to a desk in an office surrounded by flowers and foliage. The results came back with more correct answers from the participants surrounded by the plants.
5. It decreases your chances of becoming ill.
Dry air isn’t healthy for us humans. When the air is dry, people often get dry skin, sore throats and dry coughs - none of which is what we want. But by adding a plant such as Areca Palm to your bedroom, it releases moisture into the air and gets rid of the dry air, resulting in you not waking up and feeling worse for wear but refreshed instead.
Conclusion
Although there are lots of scientific ways that plants can lead to a healthier lifestyle around the house, they also look amazing and can easily fill a small space with a pop of colour and an inch of personality. So if you’re looking for an easier and perhaps more inexpensive way to improve your lifestyle and health rather than healthy eating and visiting the gym… plants seem to be the way forward!
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Sources:
https://www.curejoy.com/content/9-plants-give-oxygen-even-night/
https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/houseplants-make-you-smarter/
