Houseplants bring great benefits to humans. They create a cozy atmosphere in the house, purify the air and saturate with oxygen, smell good. Some plants are used as medicinal and also eaten. Moreover, as proven by scientists, flowers have a beneficial effect on mental health. Today we will tell you how indoor plants can improve your life.
How Green Therapy Works
People have long understood the importance of the influence of plants. Aloe and echinacea are recognized as medicinal. Favorite flowers as a gift improve mood for the whole day. Spend a few hours on a picnic in the forest, among the trees and grasses – you will literally filled with new energy. How about setting up your own green home spa? For example, go for a potted plant or google flowers delivered near me and order a bouquet of fresh flowers. Flowers are not very expensive, and they have a huge number of advantages. Just take a floral scent.
Scientists have proved: flowers in pots on the windowsill and caring for them work wonders. So, according to a study published in the Journal of Physiological Anthropology, caring for potted plants lowers blood pressure, caring for houseplants promotes healing, and literally reduces pain. The effect on mental health is also impressive, indoor flowers reduce stress, relieve anxiety, increase feelings of happiness. Some hospitals even include houseplant care in their treatment program. For example, NYU Langone Tisch has developed its horticultural therapy program and is successfully implementing it in practice.
So what is the essence of green therapy?
- Green is known to have calming properties. If this green color is also given by living plants that saturate the room with oxygen, the effect is doubly enhanced. Australian scientists in 2010 conducted an experiment in offices and proved that those workers who were surrounded by green plants showed a 37% reduction in anxiety and nervous tension. And their tendency to depression, anger, aggression decreased by 40%. Fatigue was removed by 38%.
- Caring for plants especially helps to get rid of stress and depression, as it helps to distract from problems.
- Flowers increase productivity and creativity. According to scientists, productivity in offices with flowers is 15% higher than in companies without live plants. Plants improve memory, concentration. According to scientists at the University of Exeter, one plant per square meter is enough for a beneficial effect. Also, flowers can increase a person’s creativity by 15%. This is ensured by the fact that in a green environment it is easier for a person to breathe, it is easier to break away from focusing on some problem.
- Flowers improve moral character. Studies by some psychologists have shown that plants are able to form such qualities as a sense of justice, empathy, goodwill, trust in the world. Flowers also increase self-confidence, the level of self-control.
Nevertheless, just as a person underestimates the importance of plants in his life, so in applied psychology the value of the world of flora as a source of natural psychotherapy and self-help is only beginning to be realized, and the practices of its use are still intuitive.
How To “Unlock” The Miraculous Properties Of Plants
A very important point: indoor plants will show all their beneficial miraculous properties only if you take care of them. Lee Ann Starling, president of the American Horticultural Therapy Association, emphasizes that just looking at plants and admiring their beauty is only a small part of what they can give you. Watering, bathing, making sure they get enough light… Start taking care of your flowers so that they reveal all their beneficial properties to you.
If you decide to bring some greenery into your life, write down a list of things that you definitely need.
- Watering can. Choose with a long thin spout, with the help of such a watering can it is easy to water the plants right at the roots, the water will get exactly where it is needed.
- Spray. Some plants need small mist-like droplets rather than large sprays of water when irrigated.
- Scissors for trimming. Cut off dried pieces, restrain the growth of the plant to the desired. A good pair of garden shears can help houseplants stay healthy and look their best.
- Decorative pot. Check with your florist to determine what size pot your flower needs.
Plants are the easiest part of nature to bring into your home or office. That’s why it’s so important to indulge in green therapy to ensure your psychological well-being.
