Going Green: The Top Health Benefits of Indoor Plants
Humanity’s relationship with plants goes way, way back. Ever since we first domesticated crops for human use around 10000 BC, mankind has been using plants to our advantage.
Even so, you might still think of indoor plants as a modern invention, but that’s not actually the case. In fact, humanity’s love affair with potted plants goes back at least a couple thousand years.
It seems that we’ve always intuitively understood that a little green goes a long way, but what are the actual benefits of indoor plants? Turns out that there are quite a few. Let’s take a look at some of them.
1. Natural Air Production
Probably one of the first things you learned about plants in elementary school is that they produce oxygen. The breathing processes of humans and plants are directly inverse to one another. Humans breathe oxygen and expel carbon dioxide, but plants breathe carbon dioxide and produce oxygen.
This symbiotic relationship is one of the main reasons that having plants in your home is beneficial. In a very literal sense, the oxygen concentration in your house is boosted by the presence of plants.
More fresh oxygen means better physical and mental functioning all around, but there’s even more to it. Plants also act as natural air purifiers. They’ve been shown to eliminate up to 87% of the harmful compounds that are regularly found in the air of residential homes.
2. Health Improvements
Having more oxygen in your home comes with an array of health benefits, but that’s not the only way plants promote health. People who have indoor plants tend to have lower heart rates and blood pressure, as well as lower levels of stress and anxiety.
This effect has even been quantified in a medical setting. Hospital patients who have plants in their rooms have been shown to recover at an increased rate compared to patients without plants. Not only do they tend to require less medication, but they also get discharged from the hospital more quickly.
High blood pressure and stress can be serious killers in old age. Keeping plants around makes you less susceptible to heart attacks and hypertensive episodes.
3. Natural Humidifiers
On top of being massive producers of oxygen, indoor plants also release considerable amounts of water. Most plants release up to 97% of the water they take in back into the air.
Increasing the ambient humidity in your living spaces comes with a host of health benefits. For one thing, it helps keep respiratory illnesses at bay.
It also reduces the frequency of things like dry skin, cold, and sore throats. And that’s not even all! Read more about indoor plants and their benefits by following the link.
Take Advantage of Indoor Plants
Indoor plants come with even more benefits than the ones we’ve discussed here. From mental health improvements to measurable physical benefits, you should be taking advantage of their many advantageous effects.
If you still haven’t gotten your plant info or home improvement fix, don’t worry. You can find more articles about how to improve your living spaces with plants, decor, and more in our blog.
What's Your Reaction?
