We all know the benefits of healthy fruits and vegetables in our diets, but have you ever heard that just having plants around can make you healthier? According to an article at treehugger.com, These are the 5 benefits:
1. Better breathing.
2. Staving off illness.
3. Cleaner air.
4. Speedy healing.
5. Better work performance.
These are all based on scientific evidence of course, and I want to take a look at each of these to see why plants provide the benefit and what the evidence is.
1. Better breathing:
This claim is based on the fact that during photosynthesis, plants absorb carbon dioxide and release oxygen. This is the opposite of what we do, breathing in oxygen and releasing CO2. So plants make our environment more oxygen rich and thus easier to breath in. Something I learned from this article is that most plants actually reverse this process at night and release CO2, something that Al Gore and the Carbon Exchanges probably never told you. But there are exceptions, including Orchids, that continue the beneficial gas exchange at night.
2. Deterring illness:
Plants release moisture in the air and thus make their environment more humid. This, it turns out, makes such an environment less favorable for the flu virus.
3. Cleaning the air:
A study by NASA found that plants reduce pollution, specifically indoor plants. I’ll have a link to the report, which includes a chart that shows a dramatic reduction of Formaldehyde in particular in the presence of Philodendron and Aloe plants.
4. Healing:
An article on the Texas A&M website cites a number of benefits of plants in homes and workplaces, including acceleration of the healing process. This was discovered in studying recovery rooms in which patients healed faster. This had nothing to do with chemical processes in the plants, but everything to do with the soothing nature of plants, even when only seen through windows. This re-inforces our theme of stress as a health hazard and stress-relief through various means as a health benefit.
5. Work performance:
The same report also claimed that being in nature increases the energy levels. It encourages a positive outlook on life. I can attest to this personally, and have spoken many times here about how being out here just makes me feel better.
There are many more benefits, and I recommend you read the full article from the Texas A&M site that I’ll have in the show notes. So, I think I’m going to get some more plants. I have one houseplant in the house, and some flowers in herb garden among the basil, oregano, and pepper plants. But I am all for anything that improves my health, especially my mental health.
References:
https://www.treehugger.com/health/5-health-benefits-houseplants.html
https://ntrs.nasa.gov/archive/nasa/casi.ntrs.nasa.gov/19930073015.pdf
https://ellisonchair.tamu.edu/health-and-well-being-benefits-of-plants/#.VNzuCeddVfA
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