Looking for an easy way to boost your mental health? Get some houseplants.
A steady stream of research through the years has found a link between indoor plants and improved mood, heightened focus and increased creativity and productivity.
Interacting with indoor plants promotes comfortable, soothing and natural feelings and also reduces blood pressure, heart rate and other physiological responses to stress, one 2015 study found. Elementary school students in classrooms with a wall of plants were better able to maintain a sharpened focus on a task, tuning out other environmental factors, compared to students in classrooms without plants, a 2016 study showed.
Hospital patients with plants in their rooms or with views of gardens had reduced stress and better outcomes, including needing less pain medication and having shorter hospital says, according to 2002 research review. And a 2012 study found real plants in hospital waiting rooms – and even just posters of plants – reduced patient stress.
"We see a clear connection with the fact that being around plants improves cortisol levels in our body," Melinda Knuth, an assistant professor of horticultural science at North Carolina State University, told Time in 2023. "We hold our stress hormone, cortisol, in our saliva, and we know this is decreased when we're around plants."
A 2015 study in England concluded that employees were 15% more productive when indoor plants were brought into their minimalist workspaces.
"What was important was that everybody could see a plant from their desk," Dr. Chris Knight, who led the study, told the Guardian in 2014. "If you are working in an environment where there's something to get you psychologically engaged you are happier and you work better."
Courtenay Harris Bond/PhillyVoice
Indoor plants promote comfortable, soothing and natural feelings and also reduce blood pressure, heart rate and other physiological responses to stress, one study found.
How to find free, low-cost and native plants in the Philly region
The Philly Plant Exchange has nearly 20,000 Facebook members who offer cuttings of different varieties, post about plants they want to acquire and share advice.
The Pennsylvania Horticultural Society hosts plant swaps at its pop-up gardens. It's a one-for-one exchange. Bring plants, gardening tools or books and take something home. The next plant swap is June 2 at the PHS Pop Up Garden at 106 Jamestown Ave. in Manayunk.
The Free Plant Exchange in Philly, with more than 7,000 members, is a forum for exchanging free plants or setting up swaps. People also share advice and recommendations.
The Philadelphia Orchard Orchard Project has a plant sale coming up on Saturday, May 17 from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. at 4000 Woodland Ave. in West Philly.
The Pennsylvania Native Plant Society, a nonprofit dedicated to promoting the use of native plants, maintains a list of plant sales featuring native plants.
