Welcome back to another Consultant Proficiency Resources (CPR) LLC Wellness Wednesday. Today's post promotes a more holistic work environment in a home office or corporate setting. A study published in the Journal of Physiological Anthropology found that plants in your home or office can make you feel more comfortable, soothed, and natural, resulting in creativity. There are many reasons small business owners should promote a holistic office space. Maintaining indoor plants is one of a few; it is, however, the least inexpensive where even the employee can purchase their favorite and share, such as mint, bay, or thyme leaves. Today's wellness tips provide seven reasons to nurture indoor plants within your office setting.
1. Indoor plants may help reduce stress levels
A trusted study source published in the Journal of Physiological Anthropology found that plants in your home or office are conducive to a more creative and positive environment. The study concluded that indoor plants lowered the stress response in participants. Researchers concluded that working with plants could reduce both physiological and psychological stress.
2. Real plants may sharpen your attention
Sorry, plastic plants won’t help you pass your exams. In a small study involving 23 participants, researchers put students in a classroom with either a fake plant, a real one, a photograph of a plant, or no plant. Brain scans of the participants showed that the students who studied with natural, live plants in the classroom were more attentive and better able to concentrate than students in the other groups.
3. Working with plants can be therapeutic
For people experiencing the symptoms of mental illness, indoor gardening can be helpful.
Researchers Trusted Source used horticultural therapy to increase feelings of well-being among people with depression, anxiety, dementia, and other conditions.
4. Plants may help you recover from illness faster
Looking at plants and flowers may speed your recovery from an illness, injury, or surgery.
A 2002 review of the research revealed that people recuperating from several kinds of surgery needed less pain medication and had shorter hospital stays than people who weren’t looking at greenery during their recovery periods.
5. Plants may boost your productivity
Multiple studies found that plants in the workspace increase both productivity and creativity.
In a 2004 study by trusted Sources, researchers challenged people to make creative word associations. They performed better when a plant was in the room with them. And a 2007 study showed that people with more plants in their workspace took fewer sick days and were more productive on the job.
6. Plants may improve your whole outlook on work
A view of the city park might improve anyone’s job satisfaction — but it might surprise you to learn that a potted plant could have a similar effect. Researchers Trusted Source interviewed over 440 Amazon employees in India and the United States. They found that those whose office environment included natural elements like indoor plants felt greater job satisfaction and more commitment to the organization than those who didn’t work around natural elements. Researchers said the natural elements helped to buffer the effects of job stress and anxiety.
7. Plants may improve the quality of indoor air
Scientific support for phytoremediation — that’s the word for plants scrubbing contaminants from the air — usually begins with a NASA study conducted in the 1980s. Researchers concluded that the roots and soil of houseplants reduced airborne volatile organic compounds (VOCs) significantly.
As a bonus, the best plants that should be nurtured to freshen the air naturally include:
areca, lady, dwarf date, and bamboo palms
Boston fern
rubber tree
spider plant
Ficus tree
Are there any indoor plants you can recommend? Cheers to your health for a Wealthy, Healthy Wednesday.
Warm Regards,
CeeCee