Hello blurt!! How are you all? Today I will discuss with all of you some health beneficial aspects of indoor plants.
Not only do indoor plants make for beautiful home decor, they may also boost your health and well-being. Research suggests we spend more than 85 percent of our lives indoors and houseplants are an easy way to bring nature into your home.
"If you're receiving cancer treatment and not getting out as much as you used to, that time indoors can increase even more," says Lauren Garvey, LPC, CRC, NCC, a counselor and facilitator at Cancer Wellness at Piedmont. "That's why it's important to think about your physical environment."
Indoor plants can offer the following benefits:
Improve air quality. According to Kathy Kennedy,
a master gardener with whom Garvey collaborates at Farm Chastain, there are many things in our homes that create air pollution - cleaning products, paint, mold and mildew. Plants also replace carbon dioxide with fresh oxygen.
According to a 1989 NASA study, houseplants can help improve air quality by removing cancer- causing chemicals like formaldehyde and benzene from the air. Another study found that the soil in potted plants can also help clean indoor air.
"Microorganisms in the soil of the plant help clean the air as well," says Garvey. "These microorganisms have also been found to have anti-depressive effects."
The bigger and leafier the plant, the better, says the NASA study author. Garvey recommends peace lilies, bamboo, aloe vera, figs and Boston ferns.
Reduce stress. A 2015 study found that caring
for indoor plants reduced psychological and physiological stress in study participants. Interacting with plants helped suppress sympathetic nervous system activity and diastolic blood pressure. Participants reported feelings of comfort when working with plants versus working on a computer.
"There are many psychological benefits to spending time outdoors - it creates a sense of belonging and connection to something greater than ourselves - and it gives us what I like to call 'outdoor-phins," she says. "When we bring plants inside, we are welcoming nature into our own space."
A symbiotic relationship. "One of the best things about caring for indoor plants is the beautiful exchange that happens: Plants depend on us for care and in turn, they take care of us by improving the air we breathe and making our space more beautiful," says Garvey. "I also think plants are hopeful. As they grow and blossom, they can be an important reminder for us of things to come."
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