With most of us either working from home or physically isolated from the rest of the world right now, the state of our and home environment is becoming more and more important – and that includes bringing a bit of outside nature in. As well as looking pretty, plants actually have a bunch of physical and mental health benefits, particularly when it comes to anxiety.
To shed a little light on the wonders of surrounding ourselves with glorious plants and green things, we spoke to Dominique Hes, a lead researcher for the Plant Life Balance simple science report on the latest ep of It’s Been A Big Day For… LISTEN BELOW:
The report found two main benefits of indoor plants: they can remove air-borne toxins created by paints, furniture finishes and air pollution – significantly increasing air quality, and they can create feelings of relaxation, inspiration and positivity.
“Having plants around your house has productivity benefits, and mental health benefits,” Dr. Dom explains. “The biophilia hypothesis talks about the need to be connected to nature because that’s where we evolved. When the base brain is relaxed then all the higher functions work better, we can be more creative and intuitive.”
Oh, and for those who aren’t great pet parents and prefer the fake ones instead, you’ll get just as many mental health benefits.
“Stick some nice images on the walls, go crazy and print off some photos of beach scenes and tropical forests. Research shows that we gain benefit from a multitude of stimulus – pot plants, pictures, colours of your walls, ability to look out your window, to be able to go for a walk in the park.”
If you are game to find your green thumb, Dr. Dom suggests going for a Mother-in-Law’s Tongue or a Peace Lily. The latter are apparently “great at taking toxins out of the air.”
While we’re stuck in the midst of this global pandemic and spending more time indoors than ever before, taking care of our physical and mental health is essential. So go forth, buy something green and thriving, show it some kindness and it might just show some kindness back to you.
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