Health Benefits of House Plants
House Plants do more than just brighten up a room with color and living energy. Along with being pleasing to the eye, they bring real health benefits.
Not only do complaints about headaches, stress, heart and circulation symptoms, and colds decrease when indoor plants are present, according to Dr. Leona Rogler in “The comprehensive office series,” but also richly decorating rooms with plants can help to keep the air clean.
Mother Fern is one of the best at purifying the air, is a very popular house plant because it is easy to care for, thrives in indirect light and with little moisture, and is very attractive.
Top Nine Air Purifying Plants
The following plants are most effective in removing potentially harmful chemicals, including those in paints, varnishes, dry cleaning fluids, car exhaust fumes, and tobacco smoke from the air in your home.
- Dragon Tree
- Ivy
- Ficus
- Philodendrons
- Spider Plants
- Peace Lilies
- Ferns
- Chrysanthemums
- Palms
House Plants Clean the Air
The good news is that a classic National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) study found that common house plants could improve air quality. In fact, they reported that house plants were able to remove up to 87 percent of air toxins in 24 hours.
The recommendation? Use 15 to 18 “good-sized” house plants in 6 to 8 inch diameter containers for an 1,800 square-foot house.
Plants can remove a variety of toxic air emissions including ammonia, formaldehyde, carbon monoxide, benzene, xylene and trichloroethytene.
Plants Make You Happy
House plants make people feel calmer and more optimistic. Studies have shown that hospital patients who face a window with a garden view recovered more quickly than those who had to look at a wall.
Plants Fight Fatigue and Colds
According to a University of Agriculture in Norway study, indoor plants can reduce fatigue, coughs, sore throats and other cold-related illnesses by more than 30 percent, partially by increasing humidity levels and decreasing dust.
Plants at the Office
Even major corporations and work environments are beginning to catch on that adding plants indoors does wonders for employee health and morale. According to one study published in Rehabilitation Literature, a manufacturing company integrated plants into its office so that no employee would be more than 45 feet from greenery. The result? Company administrators said they noticed enhanced creativity and increased productivity in employees.