04. Can plants improve your mental health?

 Publication 4

Can plants improve your mental health?

What are the benefits of having plants?

The extent to which being around plants can affect us is projected to each of us with varying intensity. To some it may seem an uninteresting activity. For others, like myself, this activity can gradually make us want to get more and more involved. A passion for plants (specifically houseplants) can start when someone gifts one🪴.

My first plant was a "Chinese money plant" (Pilea peperomioides) given to me by a good friend. Despite its inglorious ending, I don't remember being able to make it last for a month, however this one managed to pass on me the "bug" of loving plants for good. With everyone I've talked to who is involved with plants described their experiences with them like this: They start out having one or two, then go through the "the Amazon jungle at home" period, and after some experience they come to certain preferences. 

Nonetheless, what plants can offer us? 🌱

A living and healthy "Chinese money plant" (Pilea peperomioides)

Houseplants can help to reduce anxiety and stress

Studies have proven the benefits of being surrounded by plants. Plants have the physiological effects of lowering blood pressure, improving breathing, reducing stress and improving mental health. Also, each type of plant has different beneficial properties. For example, some plants are more effective at filtering the air in a room. Therefore, you can find which plant you need depending on its capabilities. Moreover, plants have also been studied in the context of treatment in patients. It was observed that the presence of plants can make patients have better expectations for post-operative recovery and more positive feelings during hospitalization. This method of achieving therapeutic effects through exposure to green plants and green plant-related activities (e.g. planting, pruning, etc.) is called "horticultural therapy".

It is a hobby

Being involved with plants is a hobby. This occupation can fill your free time incredibly creatively, that's because: 

💭 This hobby does not follow the simple sequence: I bought it/was given, I put it in a spot and that's it. 

💭 A plant is a living organism and often with big or even strange demands and needs. 

There are some plants that literally "talk to you" with their foliage showing you what they want. Sometimes less light, more light, less water.  Then, one has to deal with transplanting them into larger pots when the plants grow. Plus, you can make your own new plants from any "babies" that may be growing next to them, so you also get a chance to see them grow from the beginning.

They can improve your mood

Spending time with plants can rapidly improve your mood. You can discover the huge category of plants and try out which one suits you. Also, plants can be a pleasant break either at home or at work. Watching them carefully, if a new plant or leaf grows, watering them or even photographing them is part of this hobby. Furthermore, they help to calm the mind and thus give you the opportunity to give yourself a breathing space to relax and unwind. One study found that transplanting a houseplant reduces blood pressure and reduces the activity of the sympathetic nervous system - which is the part of the nervous system that is activated in times of stress. Other studies have found that even the presence of plants can be soothing, with one theory suggesting that the positive effects produced by the presence of plants may be due to the aesthetic improvement that plants bring to the home or the beauty of nature, which could help release tension.

They are aesthetically beautiful

Of course, aesthetics could not be missing. Plants can so simply, just by their presence, beautify and completely change the aesthetics of the home or even the office.

In both cases, in my opinion, they are two beautiful offices. However, in the picture below I feel that something is missing

Companionship

Plants are living organisms, each with its own unique needs.  They can go from radically changing your space to providing you with companionship. During the pandemic, people with houseplants tended to experience negative emotions less frequently than those who had no greenery at home. Consequently, sales of houseplants in the year 2021 skyrocketed!

I know that many people are afraid to get involved with plants. Several people think that: "'Oh no, I'll kill them. I'm no good at growing and caring for them." But the real trick to having plants is to have lots of them and practice until you learn how to care for them and which one suits you. If a plant dies, like the first plant of ALL plants (anyone who has kept their first plant over a year -wow-) think of it as just part of nature. Many times, even with the most experience and care a plant can die.

Flower from my plant: Maranta leuconeura

American Horticultural Society – Improving Life Through Plants and Gardening (ahsgardening.org)

Plants, Parks, and Mental Health – Open Mind (open-mind.org)

Human Response to Window Views and Indoor Plants in the Workplace in: HortScience Volume 40 Issue 5 (2005) (ashs.org) 

Rich, D. L. (2007). Effects of exposure to plants and nature on cognition and mood: A cognitive psychology perspective.