6 reasons to get houseplants now

6 Reasons to get houseplants now

15/1/2018

Urban Jungle Bloggers

Urban jungle rooms fill the pages of magazines while Green concept stores and Urban Gardening shops are popping up everywhere.

But aside from them being all the rage right now, there are more reasons to fill your house with living greenery.

Here are 6 reasons to get houseplants now:

1. Plants create Oxygen

Photosynthesis.
Remember from your first year of biology?

A very (very) basic explanation: the plant uses sunlight, water and carbon dioxide to grow and releases oxygen while doing that.

Which is obviously great, since we use that oxygen to breathe.

To really get into the technical biological stuff, read this Wikipedia article.

by House of Thol

2. Plants purify the air

Pollutants like benzene, formaldehyde and trichloroethylene are being emited by furniture, upholstery, cleaning products and other (factory-made) items in our house.
In a place lacking decent ventilation, those pollutants build up and can cause headaches, dizziness, nausea and eye, ear and nose irritation.

via collectspace news

Not only do houseplants create fresh oxygen, many plants also filter the air, getting rid of harmful substances.

NASA conducted a very extensive study to the air-filtering qualities of houseplants back in 1989.

A full transcript of the original study can be found here.

Or, for a quick overview of the outcome and a list of plants that are stars at battling indoor pollution, check out this Wikipedia article.

NASA recommends at least 1 plant per 100sq feet (ca 9m2) of home. Feel free to do the math yourself.

3. Plants make you smart

At least that's what this article on Scientific American states.

There's still a lot of research going on in this area, and most scientists agree that house-plants can help you stay fresh and focused during a hard day of staring at the screen, thus improving productivity.

6 reasons to get houseplants now - # 03 Plants make you smart | photograph by Bloomberg

Best Deskplants for the office by Bloomberg

4. Plants make you happy and healthy

Living in a green environment can reduce stress, lower blood-pressure and can even help the healing process.

According to cardiologist Dr. Bruno Cortis, patients who have a room with a garden view recover more quickly than patients who are staring out of a window to a brick wall.

Not hard to imagine that.

Some people say the reason we feel better when we're surrounded by plants is because we do well when surrounded by nature.

Something to do with human beings living in nature for millions of years, only to retreat into a world of concrete in the last century.

Again: makes sense.

5. Plants are natural humidifiers

As humans we feel best in a humidity-level ranging from 40%-60%.
Most rooms and offices however, have a humidity level of 25% (especially in winter, when the heater's on) and it's not uncommon to have a humidifier in a room or office to help create the right humidity.
Such a waste of space and electricity.

Houseplants can significantly increase the over-all humidity-level of a room, bringing it right up to the ideal percentage.
Healthy humidity-levels are not only great for your skin, it also prevents itchy eyes and an irritated throat.

6 reasons to get houseplants now - # 05 Houseplants are natural humidifiers | photograph by Domain

How to buy the best indoor plants for your home by Domain

6. Plants are pretty

A pretty obvious reason, and enough for me to start building an indoor garden.

Don't take my word for it, look at these beauties.
And there are so many many more.