As the days get shorter, and the colors outside, well… lose their color, our health can take a hit, physically, mentally and emotionally. We may choose to forego our usual outdoor walk or run, or we may get that seasonal cold or flu that’s going around. Combine that with the shortening daylight hours, and the sure knowledge that winter is creeping up on us makes the season tough to adjust to.
Besides switching up our exercise routine like swimming at the indoor pool, or purchasing a daylight lamp, there’s a quick, easy, and charming way you can:
- Improve your mood
- Purify the air
- Boost the aesthetics of your home
The answer: Adopt more houseplants!
The top 3 benefits of having houseplants in your home
1. Enhances Mood + Clarifies the Mind
Plants create a relaxing, welcoming ambience in our homes, helping us to unwind after a long day out in the busy world. Even the sight of a plant can lower anxiety levels, and the smell of fresh flowers (like lavender) is known to help lower people’s heart rate.
Flowers and greenery inside our homes help to:
- Reduce stress, tension, anxiety, and depression
- Promote well-being, positive calm-energy, optimism, and a sense of stability
- Clear the mind, which in turn increases concentration, boosts creativity, promotes better memory-retention and even helps improve productivity!
Plants have even been shown to promote healing in hospital environments, and certain flowers have been shown to immediately impact happiness and improve memory.
Mood-boosting plant ideas for your home:
- Aloe Vera
- Peace Lily
- Flowers like lavender, daisies, roses, and lilies
- Ferns
- Chinese Evergreen
2. Purifies Air + Bolsters Immunities
When the temperature drops, our windows close tight, trapping stale air that often contains pollutants from carpets and furniture, along with dust and other indoor irritants.
But, according to the University of Technology in Sydney, any green shoot with proper light, will remove CO2 and release equal amounts of O2, helping to reduce all types of urban air pollutants such as:
- Nitrogen and sulfur oxides
- Carbon dioxide (CO2) & carbon monoxide (CO)
- Air toxics (i.e. volatile organic compounds ‘VOCs’)
- Fine particulate matter (PM10/2.5)
- Ozone
Because plants act like a sponge, leaching toxins and impurities from the air, they purify the atmosphere in our homes, lowering the risk of illness and even the perception of pain!
Toxin-removing plant ideas for your home:
- Palms (areca, lady, and bamboo)
- Rubber Plant
- Peace Lily
- Philodendron
3. Adds Aesthetic Charm + Makes House Guests Happier
Houseplants offer another creative outlet to make your home a reflection of you. They can act as centerpieces, draw the eye, or create a subtle, in the background, ‘wallflower’ – look!
Your house guests will also feel the captivating effects of your houseplants, giving them an overall better feeling of wellness while they’re visiting you. So, having more plant-life in your home means you’ll be a BETTER HOST. Or at least your guests will think so ;). Now that alone is worth adopting more houseplants!
Aesthetically-pleasing plant ideas for your home:
- Fiddle Leaf Fig
- Silver Nerve
- String of Pearls Succulent
- English Ivy
- Prayer Plant
What if I (ahem), kill every plant I own?
We hear you! It’s taken us a while to figure out how NOT to kill those beautiful, lush greens that depend on us to survive indoors.
For those of us who are a little ‘green-thumb-challenged’, we have a list of succulents and other plants that are hard to kill:
- Spider plant
- Aloe vera
- Snake plant
- Rubber plant
- Philodendron
- Golden Pothos
- Any sort of cactus
Because they don’t require a lot of water or fuss, these plants make it easy on those who need help to NOT kill their plants – or for those who are just beginning and about to dive into becoming a ‘plant-parent’.
How many plants should I get for my home?
While it would be nice to make your home or apartment into a small jungle, that’s probably not possible. The recommended number of houseplants is one potted plant per 100 square feet.
Just remember to read all about your new plant when you purchase it to determine if it’s safe for children and pets if you have them (English Ivy and Peace Lilies are both toxic plants to humans and pets).
Which plants should I get and where do I put them in my home?
While your space is your own, and you can feel free to put your plants where you see fit, try these suggestions if you’re having trouble deciding where to put each houseplant:
In the Living Room:
- Palms
- English Ivy
- Silver Nerve
In the Office:
- Snake plant
- Cacti, succulents
- Chinese Evergreen
In the Kitchen:
- Basil
- Spider plant
- Golden Pothos
In the Dining Room:
- String of Pearls succulent
- Fiddle Leaf Fig
- Rubber Plant
In the Bedroom:
- Aloe vera
- Fern
- Peace Lily
In the Bathroom:
- Philodendron
- Fern
- Golden Pathos
Enjoy a happier, greener atmosphere inside your home
It’s time to enjoy all the benefits of those green-leafed beauties!
So take an afternoon and head out to your local home and garden center, or check out a flower shop to pick out a few of your favorite plants and flowers for a happier, greener environment inside your home!
Photo by Cassidy Phillips on Unsplash
Feature photo by Annie Spratt on Unsplash
