In 2022, a larger percentage of people work from home compared to the pre-pandemic period. Staying home 24 hours a day, 7 days a week can have a mental toll on anyone, and it makes us aware of our environment and nature’s silent friends – plants.
I like to call plants ‘nature’s silent friends’ because a friend is anything that positively affects your mental health – and that’s what plants do. They have been studied to help us stay cool, calm, and alive. Here are five ways plants improve our mental and physical health.
1. Plants makes us feel happy
When we spend time in a garden or any green environment, a reaction occurs with the release of Serotonin and Dopamine. Commonly called “feel good” chemicals, they elevate the mood by making us more energetic.
A study to back this claim was published by the University of California, Berkley which studied four San Francisco hospitals. 79 per cent of the patients said they felt more relaxed and calmer after spending time in the garden. 25 pe rcent of the patients said they felt stronger and relaxed, and another 19 per cent said they felt positive after spending time in a garden.
This means it is essential to have a garden indoors to elevate your mood. Are you worried about how they will grow without sunlight? Well! Nursing plants indoors has been made easy using grow lights that aid the growth of plants in the absence of sunlight.
2. Plants reduce stress
Plants are not just used to cater to our daily needs; they have soothing effects as well, and hence they can help to reduce psychological and physiological stress. A 2008 study conducted by Kansas State University showed that patients with plants in their hospital room have lower blood pressure and higher pain tolerance compared to other patients.
3. Plants boost memory retention
Every movement supporting a greener ecosystem will always emphasize commuting to work on bikes and not cars. After all, the inhalation of carbon monoxide does a lot of damage to the brain. It makes you feel tired, leading to an unproductive day at work which might lead to queries if you don’t meet up with the task assigned to you.
A 2020 study supported the University of Geneva showed that those who commute to work on a bike or a less populated road have higher memory retention than those who commute on a busy road.
How to take care of plants
You can never go wrong by taking good care of your plants, but you need to ask yourself what do plants really need? For those who are not science-inclined, plants are the primary producers of our ecosystem, most food chains begin with them, and they rely on the sun as a source of energy.
Aside from the sun, which is light energy, they need carbon dioxide and water to produce their food and water as a by-product. We can surely provide for water and carbon dioxide indoors because that is what we breath-out but we can’t provide sun, which is important for their food production. This is where grow lights come in; they help provide the necessary light intensity for plants indoors.
Learn a lesson or two about plants and light to know how much light your plants need. Too much water and light can be disastrous to their growth. Grow lights are calibrated for indoor growing, so be rest assured of your plants’ health.
The importance of plants cannot be overemphasized; we breathe in oxygen which they release to the atmosphere as a by-product of their food production, they serve as raw materials that we use for clothing and building materials, and they also serve as a source of foreign exchange for the countries into selling of woods, timber and other plant products.
Do you feel stressed or overwhelmed at home? Bring some plants inside and see how they transform your personal and professional life.
Would you like to learn how to manage stress? Do you need a healthier work/life balance? Contact Colleen on 0434 337 245 or Duncan on 0434 331 243 for a FREE 10-minute phone consultation on how we can best help you, or press book now.
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