Plant Parents Unite: 6 Scientifically-Proven Reasons Why M’sians Should Have Indoor Plants At Home

Your home is dubbed as your personal sanctuary and it is important to build a space where you can truly relax and unwind. This is where having plants can help you out! From reducing stress levels to boosting pain tolerance, there are tons of benefits that come with having indoor plants. Interested? Just read on to find out more.

1. Being in a room with indoor plants is proven to reduce stress levels

Studies have proven that being in a room where indoor plants are present can considerably help in reducing stress levels! In one experiment, participants who spent even just 10 minutes in a room with plants expressed that they felt more at peace than those who were in a room without plants.

Thus, if you’re not feeling relaxed in your home or you’re someone who has a very stressful job, it’s worth adding in some greens around your home to help ease your mind.

2. Having live plants in your surrounding can improve your ability to concentrate

Not only are plants pleasing to look at, but studies have also found that they can improve your concentration and productivity by up to 47% and boost your memory by up to 20%! This is explained by the fact that when we’re indoors, we’re exposed to more carbon dioxide (CO2) which can make it harder for us to concentrate. Thus, having indoor plants that would release more oxygen can help to clear your mind (literally speaking!).

And if you’re a night owl, you should get specific plants that would release oxygen at night (since most plants tend to release CO2 at night). Some of these include the Snake plant, Orchid, Money plant and Weeping Fig.

3. Plants can help boost your healing and pain tolerance

Several studies have found that patients in hospitals are bound to have a higher pain tolerance when indoor plants are present in their ward. The explanation behind this is due to the fact that these plants provide a “positive distraction” that shifts patients’ focus towards something other than their illness. Other than that, these plants can also help to reduce coughing, dizziness and nasal congestion.

4. Your plants can help improve the quality of indoor air

A past study has tested the ability of common indoor plants to remove pollutants in the air. They did this by putting several plants in a chamber containing NO2 and after a while, it is found that these plants were able to remove half the pollutants. However, there have been other studies suggesting that you would need a large number of plants in order to really purify the air. But given how much impurities are in the air, every bit of help would count, right?

Some of the gorgeous plants that can help purify your home include:

• Devil’s Ivy (Pothos): removes xylene, benzene, formaldehyde and trichloroethylene.
• Peace Lily: removes benzene, formaldehyde, carbon monoxide, trichloroethylene and xylene.
• Areca palms: remove benzene, formaldehyde, carbon monoxide, trichloroethylene and xylene.
• Rubber plants (Ficus Elastic): remove xylene, benzene, formaldehyde and trichloroethylene.

5. Working to upkeep these plants can be a therapeutic experience

It’s no secret that plants require some upkeeping work such as watering them, changing soils, etc. Thankfully, working with plants is proven to be a therapeutic experience that can improve your mental health!

Known as horticultural therapy, it is rooted in the theory that humans are naturally connected to nature and plants. Thus, when you surround yourself with greenery and work to upkeep them, it will give you a sense of belonging and improve your overall mental health.

6. BONUS: Showering with eucalyptus leaves can release a natural oil to calm your mind

Recently, there’s been a phenomenon where people would get branches of live eucalyptus and tie them to their shower heads. Apparently, this is so that the steam from their warm showers will cause the eucalyptus leaves to release an essential oil that can aid in clearing up nasal congestion and sinus issues. Plus, the essential oil is also found to be calming and can reduce stress levels.

Now that you’ve known some of the cool benefits of having indoor plants, you might be interested to get some for your home, right? In case you’re not sure which indoor plants to invest in, we’d recommend these common household plants that can give you the same benefits that we’ve listed above:

• Aloe Vera
• Lavender
• Snake plant
• Peace lily
• Ficus
• Dragon tree
• Parlor Palm
• Spider plant
• Fiddle Leaf Fig
• Monstera

However, if you have children or pets in the house, please make sure to choose your plants carefully so that your child or pet won’t react negatively to those plants. Best of luck on your plant parenting journey!

Also read: 6 Nurseries Around Klang Valley For The Cheapest Plants For Your Home