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Improve Your Mental & Physical Health by Simply Adding Houseplants

April 15, 2019

Houseplants near a couch

Plants are very important. It’s no secret plants are imperative to our survival. Everything: food, building materials, medical efforts, oh and that whole taking carbon dioxide and transforming it into clean oxygen. It will come as no surprise then, recent studies conclude that household plants have a direct impact on our mental health.

There are numerous reasons why having indoor plants might improve our mood, and the most obvious is they’re preferred 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 alive and the positive psychological effect it had in the houseplant's caretaker. According to the research, those who share extended periods of time in the presence of plants tend to have stronger relationships with other people and accordingly experience increased levels of happiness.

best apartment home houseplants 

Fact: Plants Help People

Additional research found that flowering plants provide increased levels of happiness and therefore, keeping flowering plants around the house and ay work has the potential to significantly lower stress levels. Science is science. Studies have shown that people who are around more plants are almost always more likely to offer help to others, and usually have more active social relationships. It makes sense, people who care for houseplants are more likely to care for others, reaching out to their peers and building strong bonds out of their mutual interests.

Plants Reduce Stress 

Natural aesthetic beauty can have a calming effect, and including ornamental plants around the family home is an excellent way to lower high levels of stress and anxiety. As a result of the happiness derived from a home that has plants in it, the likeliness of suffering from stress-caused depression is lessened as well. The research supports that by having plants in your house, you improve your mental health by producing peace and open spaces to your brain.

Plants Help You Remember Your To-Do List

Having ornamental houseplants in the home improves memory retention and concentration. How? Natural environments produce a calming influence which increases a person’s ability to focus on the task at hand. Going outside or being around houseplants inside can increase memory retention as much as twenty percent, a recent University of Michigan study concluded (Sewach).

Are you convinced yet? Great. Here are two examples of ideas for great plants to have in your apartment:

best plants for your house

Spider Plant

Spider plants are one of the most popular indoor botanicals, and your family is going to love them because it has a cool name, spider plant They’re very easy to care for, and spider plants are especially good at absorbing mold or allergens from the air and are great options to use in areas that are prone to dampness: laundry room, downstairs, and bathrooms. Spider plants are mainly low maintenance, too. Provide them with bright, indirect light and they will flourish. Water it well but do not overwater, which can lead to root rot. In fact, spider plants don't mind drying out a bit between waterings.

Snake Plant

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

Notice a trend with our two houseplants? If you have kids, we’re hopefully making it easier to get them excited! Who doesn't love plants named Spider and Snake?