5 Self-Care Benefits of Houseplants

Today, Take Care of Texas is celebrating National Houseplant Appreciation Day by highlighting ways that houseplants can help you take care of yourself this new year. It’s important to remember that before you can take care of others—or Texas—you must first take care of yourself. Check out our website to get more ideas for your new year!

#1 — Lower Your Stress Levels

Last year had its fair share of stressful events. A surprising way to counteract the stress of the new year is to add some houseplants into your home or office. Indoor plants have been shown to make you feel more calm, soothed, and less stressed. They even help lower your blood pressure!

#2 — Benefit Your Mental Health

The simple act of indoor gardening has been shown to be beneficial for people who deal with depression or anxiety. Spending time with plants causes increased feelings of well-being and calm. Horticulture therapy is on the rise in the U.K., as doctors have begun “prescribing” potted plants to their patients!

#3 — Increase Your Productivity

When it comes to working faster and more efficiently, caffeine can only do so much. By adding a small, potted friend to your workspace, you might be able to jumpstart that next project you’ve been putting off. One study found that people who worked in environments with indoor plants worked about 12 percent faster than those in areas without plants.

#4 — Sharpen Your Attention

Working from home can include lots of distractions. Did you know that plants can actually help you focus? Research shows that people who study in rooms with real, live plants are more attentive and have better retention of information than people who study in rooms with fake plants or no plants at all.

#5 — Improve Your Indoor Air Quality

Indoor plants are a simple and cheap way to purify your indoor air. They pull dust and pollen out of the air, which can help relieve allergies. A study from NASA even shows houseplants as an excellent way to remove air pollutants from indoor environments.

Sources

Claudio L. (2011). Planting Healthier Indoor Air. Environmental Health Perspectives, 119(10), A426–A427.
de Seixas, M., Williamson, D., Barker, G., & Vickerstaff, R. (2017). Horticultural therapy in a psychiatric in-patient setting. BJPsych International, 14(4), 87–89.
Lee, M. S., Lee, J., Park, B. J., & Miyazaki, Y. (2015). Interaction with indoor plants may reduce psychological and physiological stress by suppressing autonomic nervous system activity in young adults: a randomized crossover study. Journal of Physiological Anthropology, 34(1), 21.
Lohr, V., Pearson-Mims, C., & Goodwin, G. (1996). Interior Plants May Improve Worker Productivity and Reduce Stress in a Windowless Environment. Journal of Environmental Horticulture, 14(2).
NASA. (1989). Interior Landscape Plants for Indoor Air Pollution Abatement.
Oh, Y., Kim, S., & Park, S. (2019). Real Foliage Plants as Visual Stimuli to Improve Concentration and Attention in Elementary Students. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 16(5).
Our Healthier Manchester. (2019, August 27). ‘Ey up petal – how docs are prescribing plants to keep Mancs (k)ale and hearty. Our Manchester.
Stanborough, R.J. (2020, September 18). A Hobby for All Seasons: 7 Science-Backed Benefits of Indoor Plants. Healthline.