It's true when people say plants make us happy.
We know that plants can instantly beautify a space, but their benefits are so much more than just aesthetics. The presence of plants can boost our mood and reduce our stress levels- bringing tranquility to any home or office- while also producing oxygen and filtering the air we breathe.
Becoming our little reminder to breathe more and ultimately, increasing our quality of life.
To understand this more, we spoke with Alecia from The Good Plant Co for her thoughts on how adding some indoor plants to your home can improve your mental health, improve focus and productivity as well as the physical benefits.
Indoor Plants For Mental Health
"Many studies have shown an association between indoor plants for mood, health and happiness When it comes to mental health, indoor plants can help in countless ways including reducing anxiety, reducing stress, improving focus and decreasing symptoms of depression."
Adding indoor plants to our home opens the door to the many benefits we enjoy from being outdoors. Allowing us to connect with nature while we go about our daily lives.
Alecia mentions "When adding indoor plants, it's important to stay away from artificial options. Although they can look great, they do not have the same benefits."
Some of the best mood boosting plants include:
- Happy Plant
- Peace Lily
- Philodendron Congo
Indoor Plants For Productivity
“Plants and natural elements help boost a person’s happiness in all sorts of ways. As mentioned above, using indoor plants for mood can decrease feelings of anxiety and stress. But plants are also known to improve focus, productivity, job satisfaction and job commitment.”
Research shows that plants the workspace boosted employees’ overall happiness and commitment to the job. This change in mindset could be due to the levels of CO2 in the workplace. Oxygen created by indoor plants can help reduce carbon dioxide, allowing employees to focus and think more clearly. Studies have also shown for plants to also improve creative thinking.
Some of the best plants to keep at your desk or workspace include:
- Philodendron Birkin
- Spider Plant
- Sansevieria Hahnii
In addition to plants, we know that fragrances can play a huge role on our mood too. When we are feeling flat and need a ‘pick me up’, a fresh and uplifting fragrance like Grapefruit & Yuzu can help boost our energy levels. Or if we are stressed or worried and need to feel calmer, a smooth and rich fragrance like Vanilla Caramel can help reduce our heart rate, lower blood pressure and improve our mood.
Whether you are working in an office or at home, adding a reed diffuser of your favourite calming fragrance will create a slow, long lasting fragrance to keep your stress and anxiety levels down. Or if you need a quick pick me up, a spritz of a fresh and invigorating room spray will instantly improve your focus and productivity.
Indoor Plants for Physical Health
With so many of us are now working from home or spending much more time inside, it can be difficult to find creative ways to move our bodies that won’t take up too much time in our busy schedules.
Instead of grouping our plants together in one room of your house, try separating them into different rooms. Checking in on them will force us to take those extra steps and work our muscles. Another great way to get our body moving is to move our plants around. As temperatures start to change outside, they also change inside. As you notice these changes, this is the perfect time to pick up our plants and relocate them through our home. This will ensure your plants remain in their ideal conditions to thrive while helping you to keep moving around.
Some of the best plants to help get you moving include:
- Fiddle Leaf Fig
- Giant Bird of Paradise
- Lady Palm
Thank you to Alecia for her wonderful insight into the benefits of adding a little greenery to our homes. To find out more about The Good Plant Co, head to their website.
