Having plants inside your home or office has become increasingly popular for a while now. While it also brings in a sense of luxury, it is an excellent investment for your physical and mental health. Plants have a great way of making your indoor environment more lively. The best thing about using plants indoors is that they fit into all kinds of interior design styles. You don’t need to splurge a lot of money to buy plants, you can find good ones for any budget. Here are some reasons why you should consider having plants in your spaces. 

Plants and their positive psychological impacts

Various studies have repeatedly proven how inviting flora in your space can do you good for so many reasons. They can make you feel good, apart from just looking good. Studies have also shown how indoor plants boost creativity, concentration, productivity and moods. They help reduce fatigue and stress. They have demonstrated capabilities to improve oxygen concentration, absorb toxins and increase humidity. They offer privacy, help in reducing noise pollution and add life to sterile spaces.

In a survey of the effects of spending time in a garden, 79% of patients reported that they felt calmer and more relaxed, 25% felt refreshed and stronger, and 19% felt happier. Studies have shown that even a brief encounter with nature, such as touching actual leaves, can have a relaxing impact. Additionally, scientific field studies have revealed that in offices with indoor plants added, work performance increased, employee well-being improved, and sick-leave absences decreased. In addition, the presence of indoor plants can calm and replenish people. 

In the first WELL-certified office - CBRE corporate headquarters, employees responded with the following survey feedback: Plants make interiors healthier for occupants, both physically and mentally. The presence of indoor plants in the workplace reduces: Indoor air pollutants decreased by 87% in 24 hours, overall stress decreased by 60%, anxiety decreased by 37%, fatigue decreased by 38%, headaches decreased by 20%, and noise decreased by up to 50%.

Perpetual Dependence

It's therapeutic to take care of plants. Caregiving is associated with longer life expectancy. Gardening is also associated with increased self-esteem since your efforts have visible effects. In the age of social media where social validation is considerably impacting, caring for plants helps people, especially children, to gain a sense of self-worth.  Research has also shown its association with decreased risk of illness, stress and anxiety relief, and improved attention span. Being exposed to plants and caring for them adds to the positive reinforcement they provide. 

Bringing us close to Nature

Studies have shown that spending 120 mins per week in nature is associated with good health and well-being. According to the environmental protection agency, Americans spend more than 90% of their time indoors, where some pollutants have a 2-5 times higher concentration than typical outdoors. And people who are more prone to the effects of air pollution spend even more 

time indoors. While having indoor plants doesn’t have as much positive effect as spending outdoors, it can considerably reduce the negative effect of staying indoors. It can also replicate the positive effect of spending time outdoors on a comparatively smaller scale. 

Health benefits of having plants at home 

There are several ways in which houseplants might enhance indoor air quality. While plants absorb carbon dioxide through photosynthesis and emit oxygen, they also produce water vapor through transpiration and evapotranspiration, which raises relative humidity. According to the NASA Clean Air Study, indoor air can be cleaned of volatile organic compounds by houseplants and related microbes. Pollution can be found within spaces where we work, visit, or reside in densely populated areas, as well as in the outdoor air.

This is due to the possibility of mechanical devices, building materials, and even common objects emitting airborne poisons and polluting gases. These indoor pollutants can be absorbed by plants, which can then use the stored energy to produce naturally purified air. Toxins are transferred to the roots of plants where they are transformed into a food source by absorption through the leaves of the contaminants.

The study seems slightly stale and unreliable, though. NASA's 1989 study was conducted in a secured, contained environment, making it difficult to apply to real-world situations. Some claim that you must pack your room with plants and seal it tightly if you want to significantly improve the air quality. If living in a greenhouse isn't an option, bringing plants inside can provide benefits. Plants will not degrade indoor air quality; rather, they will improve it slightly, and the other benefits they can provide are equally impressive.

The amount of space available and the number of plants housed in the area will have an effect. It's also worth noting that plants aren't the only thing that should be present in a healthy home ecosystem (adequate air exchange and filtration mechanisms should be present as well), but do provide an organic and environmentally friendly way of cleaning our surroundings.

While plants do always make a space more lively, the planters need to be complementary to the design aesthetic of the interiors. Real-life plants cannot always be feasible to maintain in some places, you can use artificial plants to add to the same aesthetic and psychological effects. At Graniti Vicentia Group, we take care of the overall well-being and satisfaction of our customers, through our design services and products.