Benefits of Houseplants

 

Benefits of Houseplants

Not only do indoor plants enhance the overall appearance of a space, but they've been shown to boost moods, increase creativity, reduce stress, and eliminate air pollutants  making for a healthier, happier you.

Indoor plants don’t just look good – they can make us feel good, too. Studies have shown indoor plants... 

• Boost your mood, productivity, concentration and creativity
• Reduce your stress, fatigue, sore throats and colds
• Help clean indoor air by absorbing toxins, increasing humidity & producing oxygen
• Add life to a sterile space, give privacy and reduce noise levels
• Are therapeutic to care for (it’s true when we say Plants Make People Happy) 

 Benefits of Houseplants

When you embellish interior spaces with houseplants, you're not just adding greenery. These living organisms interact with your body, mind and home in ways that enhance the quality of life.

Breathing Easier

When you breathe, your body takes in oxygen and releases carbon dioxide. During photosynthesis, plants absorb carbon dioxide and release oxygen. This opposite pattern of gas use makes plants and people natural partners. Adding plants to interior spaces can increase oxygen levels.At night, photosynthesis ceases, and plants typically respire like humans, absorbing oxygen and releasing carbon dioxide. A few plants –orchids, succulents and epiphytic bromeliads –do just the opposite, taking in carbon dioxide and releasing oxygen. Place these plants in bedrooms to refresh air during the night.

Releasing Water

As part of the photosynthetic and respiratory processes, plants release moisture vapor, which increases humidity of the air around them. Plants release roughly 97% of the water they take in. Place several plants together, and you can increase the humidity of a room, which helps keeps respiratory distresses at bay. Studies at the Agricultural University of Norway document that using plants in interior spaces decreases the incidence of dry skin, colds, sore throats and dry coughs.

Purifying Air

Plants remove toxins from air –up to 87% of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) every 24 hours, according to NASA research. VOCs include substances like formaldehyde (present in rugs, vinyl, cigarette smoke and grocery bags), benzene and trichloroethylene (both found in man-made fibers, inks, solvents and paint). Benzene is commonly found in high concentrations in study settings, where books and printed papers abound.

Modern climate-controlled, air-tight buildings trap VOCs inside. The NASA research discovered that plants purify that trapped air by pulling contaminants into soil, where root zone microorganisms convert VOCs into food for the plant.

Improving Health

Adding plants to hospital rooms speeds recovery rates of surgical patients, according to researchers at Kansas State University. Compared to patients in rooms without plants, patients in rooms with plants request less pain medication, have lower heart rates and blood pressure, experience less fatigue and anxiety, and are released from the hospital sooner.

The Dutch Product Board for Horticulture commissioned a workplace study that discovered that adding plants to office settings decreases fatigue, colds, headaches, coughs, sore throats and flu-like symptoms. In another study by the AgriculturalUniversity of Norway, sickness rates fell by more than 60 percent in offices with plants.

Sharpening Focus

A study at The Royal College of Agriculture in Circencester, England, found that students demonstrate 70% greater attentiveness when they're taughtin rooms containing plants. In the same study, attendance was also higher for lectures given in classrooms with plants.

 

 

 

Best Plants for Indoor Use

Common Name	Latin Name	Benefits	Best use
Spider Plant	Chlorophytum comosum	Purifies air rapidly; removes formaldehyde	Living spaces
Dragon Tree1	Dracaena marginata	Purifies air; removes formaldehyde, benzene, toluene, and xylene	Living spaces
Gerbera Daisy2	Gerbera jamesonii	Releases oxygen at night; purifies air by removing benzene and trichloroethylene	Bedrooms to refresh night time air or living spaces
English Ivy	Hedera helix	Removes benzene from air	Dorm rooms or home office
Boston Fern	Nephrolepis exaltata 'Bostoniensis'	Humidifies air	Living spaces; note that dry winter rooms can quickly kill Boston ferns; mist plants daily for best results
Philodendron3	Philodendron	Purifies air; removes formaldehyde	Living spaces of new or renovated homes with new floors, walls, carpets, etc.
Snake Plant	Sansevieria trifasciata	Purifies air; removes formaldehyde and nitrogen oxide produced by fuel-burning appliances	Living spaces, kitchens, rooms with wood stoves
Peace Lily	Spathiphyllum	Removes mold from air	Bathrooms or damp areas of Home

By,

Roshni.P.B

Department of Interior Design and Décor.