Photo Credit: Gardening Know How

Garden Streets' mission is to bring people closer to nature through plants, and there are many mental and physical benefits for doing so. Greenspace and plants help reduce stress, improve our work performance, and make us healthier!

Mental Health Benefits

As cities and populations have expanded, our ability to interact with nature has diminished. Parks and natural areas are slowly being replaced with urban landscapes. The development of these natural areas is devastating, not just due to the loss of wildlife but also how it affects our physical and mental health. Recently, research has worked to quantify the benefits nature has on our memory, emotional well-being, and general mental health. 

Taking care of your mental health has never been easy, but especially now, it can feel difficult to have outlets to de-stress when you spend all of your time at home. This is why enjoying a garden or house plants can be a precious activity to take part in. The translation of greenspaces (parks, natural areas) into the workspace has led to the concept of biophilic design. Biophilic design focuses on incorporating nature into our homes and workspaces, and it’s backed by science!

A survey conducted on over 450 employees showed that 82% of employees who work in offices with plants and windows rate their experience at work as “very happy” compared to only 58% of employees who work in places lacking plants and windows. Plants and wildlife have a measurable effect on our mental health.  A study published in the Journal of Physiological Anthropology showed that when compared to computer work, working with plants provided a significant reduction in physical and mental stress. 

Furthermore, you don’t need to spend a lot of money to get these benefits. Research published in HortTech Journal emphasized that even a small amount of greenery can relax us. Simply keeping a small plant near your workspace can significantly reduce stress levels. Consultant Emma Mills said in a recent interview with Marie Claire that indoor plants “remind us of the outdoors, nature, and a slower pace of life, which is instantly calming.”

Plants vs. Zoom Fatigue

Photo Credit: Jeremy N. Bailenson, DOI: 10.1037/tmb0000030

 Zoom fatigue is real, and according to research published in Technology, Mind, and Behavior, one of the leading causes of Zoom fatigue is cognitive overload. Your cognitive load refers to the amount of information you are able to perceive with or without conscious thought. Virtual meetings have the potential to overwhelm you due to the duration and amount of sent and received nonverbal cues. By the end of a day working from home, you may find yourself especially exhausted due to this extra cognitive load. This is where plants can assist. Attention restoration theory hypothesizes that taking breaks from deep focus helps our brains to decompress. 

According to Emma Mills, “Studies have suggested looking at nature or plants – even photos of plants, that are fascinating but not demanding – can switch the brain into a different mode of processing better suited to relaxation, gentle focus and creativity.” A report led by organizational psychologist Professor Sir Cary Cooper showed that office spaces with natural lighting and plants made employees 15% more creative.  Additionally, studies from Harvard and the University of Exeter have found that green-offices can even make you work better, with a 26% increase in cognition and a 15% increase in productivity. 

Physical health

Photo Credit: www.mashrita.com

But the benefits don’t stop with our mental health. Plants are also beneficial for our physical health. On a basic level, time spent with plants can help to decrease our pulse, which puts less stress on our hearts. Research from Harvard has highlighted how biophilic design can improve our overall health, with employees reporting 30% fewer sick days and a 6% rise in sleep quality. The basis behind this might have to do with air quality. 

According to the American Lung Association, indoor air can be more polluted than outdoor air, but luckily for us, plants are nature’s air filtration system. House plants can significantly improve air quality by reducing airborne mold, bacteria, and allergens by 60%. NASA even released a list of plants highly ranked for air purification on the international space station. These top-rated purifying plants can be browsed here. (Shop our air-purifying plants.) Plants can filter the air by removing harmful volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and excess CO2, and according to the World Green Building Council, CO2 levels play a huge role in how you feel and think. A low CO2 work environment improves cognition by 101%! 

Keeping plants in your home and office can help your physical and mental health. Are you interested in trying out a biophilic design plan in your workspace? Check out our list of low-maintenance plants.