County Agent’s Corner TJ Cummings Ag & Natural Resource Agent
House Plants Benefits
Even though it is coming to an end and has been fairly mild, I'm done with winter. Never liked winter anyway, give me summer and some sun. I read an interesting article recently I'd like to pass on to you. It said to combat winter blues and some health issues, both mental and physical, with plants. Gardeners and grandmas have preached the benefits of gardens and plants for generations. In fact, there is a whole scientific study on just that topic known as the biophilia hypothesis which says that just seeing plants is beneficial to our physical and mental health. That would explain all the plants in homes, offices, hospitals, schools, and other institutions. I thought they were just for decoration! Come to find out, lots of scientific studies have been done to verify the benefits of just seeing plants. One study showed that just seeing a living plant in a hospital waiting room reduced stress levels, another study found that participants who maintained a home garden or indoor plants had less anxiety and depression, enhanced memory retention, and reduced effects of dementia. One study had participants choose to re-pot a living plant or complete a computer-generated task. Those who worked with the plants felt more at ease and had reduced blood pressure, while those who worked with the computer task showed higher levels of anxiety and elevated blood pressure.
