There is a whole lot of evidence to suggest that having plants filling your home is beneficial for your health – but just why are house plants good for you?
Whether you are wondering why you feel better in your indoor jungle, or looking for ways to improve your home, we have got the answers for you!
What You'll Learn Today
Why Are House Plants Good For You?
It is truly lovely to have plants in your home, isn’t it? Even if you are not green fingered, you can still grow a small forest in your house!
Plants have many benefits, from added oxygen to more unexpected things such as pain relief.
Your house plants can reduce your stress levels just by simply existing. You may feel a little stress if you spot that one of them is sick, but this is outweighed by the benefits of having them!
You may notice that your tolerance to pain is increased; this has been studied with patients in hospitals.
Your cognitive function will be improved – you may find that you are able to complete tasks more quickly, and that your ability to learn and study are improved.
Having plants also carries many physical health benefits, such as lowered blood pressure, reduced headaches and an improvement in chronic pain.
What Are The Benefits Of Having Indoor Plants?
There are a great deal of benefits to having plants in your home, both physically and mentally:
- Improved mood. People with plants are generally happier and less stressed than those who don’t have any.
- Reduced blood pressure. Studies have been done which show that people who have house plants generally have lower blood pressure.
- Increased productivity. Plants in office settings can increase workers’ efforts and turn the business into a more successful one.
- Reduced fatigue. Perhaps because of the increase in oxygen levels, people report feeling less tired when they are surrounded by plants.
- Increased pain tolerance. In hospital settings, patients who are surrounded by plants report less post operative pain.
This article goes through the benefits of plants in detail.
What Is The Most Beneficial Indoor Plant?
Indoor plants are wonderful, there is no doubt about that! All plants are good for you – though the effects of the different species and cultivars has not yet been studied.
All plants will improve your life as well as making your home look lovely, but there are a few that are considered better than others, due to their ease of care and oxygen production:
- Spider plant. This little beauty produces trailing, variegated leaves and will oxygenate your home wonderfully – and it thrives on neglect!
- Snake plant. Despite its scary name, this is a very friendly plant! It removes CO2 and releases more oxygen than many other plants.
- Golden pothos. This plant is so good at cleaning the air that even NASA are researching it for use in space stations!
- Aloe vera. Not only is this succulent quick to grow and easy to maintain, the sap from the leaves is excellent at treating burns. Every household should have on in the kitchen!
- Peace lilly. Not only will this plant remove harmful chemicals from the air, it is one of the lucky ones that will bloom indoors.
- English ivy. This plant is another that is great at filtering out toxins from the air, and it is very low maintenance.
What Are 5 Benefits Of Plants?
Plants are a beautiful thing to have around your home, and they can help enormously in other ways including the aesthetic:
Oxygen
It is well known that plants release oxygen, so this is a pretty obvious one. The more plants you have, the more oxygen you will have!
Stress relief
Studies have shown that people whose houses are filled with plants are less stressed than those who don’t.
Lower blood pressure
Plants can improve your health by more than just helping the air, they can actually lower your blood pressure too.
Mood enhancer
Plants can actually make you happier! Having them dotted about your home will lift your mood without you even noticing.
Increased reaction speeds
It has been shown that people surrounded by plants have quicker reaction speeds – maybe it’s all that extra oxygen?
As you can see, plants are great for all aspects of your health, from the physical to the mental. We cannot answer for the stress you get when you realise you’ve forgotten to water them for a month though!
In case you want it cemented in your brain, here’s a little video about the benefits of plants:
Which Plant Gives Oxygen 24 Hours?
As we all know, plants take in CO2 and give out oxygen. However, there are some that are better and more efficient at this than others!
- Snake plant. This striking plant, with its upright leaves, is an ideal houseplant. It produces oxygen as well as cleaning the air of CO2 and formaldehyde.
- Areca palm. A beautiful houseplant from the Phillippines, this is a very popular choice for cleaning the air.
- Aloe vera. This one releases oxygen both day and night, as well as being an attractive, low maintenance plant. The sap is also very soothing for burns!
- Holy basil. Also known as Tulsi, this plant comes from India and south east Asia. It is excellent at purifying the air, as well as its other uses in cooking and medicine.
- Gerbera. Not only great at giving oxygen, the gerbera is also very pretty to look at! It is great for people who suffer from breathing disorders and sleep apnea.
- Money plant. Another succulen, coming from China, the money plant will add more oxygen to your home.
- Neem. Although it can be tricky to grow, this Asian native is great for purifying the air.
- Orchid. This beautiful exotic produces lovely flowers, while the large leaves suck up CO2 and release oxygen.
- Sacred fig. The Peepal is native to India, and gives oxygen 24 hours a day.
- Christmas cactus. Originating from Brazil, this lovely little succulent will provide you with pretty flowers, and release oxygen at night.
There are so many benefits to having your house filled with plants – not only the attractiveness factor, but also the myriad health benefits.
Hopefully now you understand a little more, you can add a few more plants to your jungle and know that even the most demanding is doing you good!
I want to have plants in the house for the health benefits, but I suffer from hayfever. What type should I have?
Most plants that cause the irritating symptoms of hayfever are the pollen producers – go for leafy plants that do not flower conspicuously and you and your allergies should be just fine.