Promoting Healthier Lifestyles using Plants

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History seems to praise plants greatly for their use in decorations just about anywhere. From churches, retail locations, homes, offices, and even halls, plants seem to have been used as decorations all over. Even factories have displayed indoor plants just to make the place look fabulous. However, most people seem only to concentrate on the decorative value of plants forgetting that they have numerous health benefits attached to their presence too. This article helps you discover how plants can help create a healthier lifestyle.

Plants and Mental Health

Recently, most social media platforms have lamented on the issue of mental health attempting to expound on the understanding of mental health. Coincidentally, this has become a topic of discussion in several daily discussions in different workplaces and professions generally in society. People from all walks of life such as children and adults, pro athletes, and regular people, and generally every living person encounter different experiences in life that influence their mental health as they move about. 

Notably, retailers are also taking a different toll on the market by adjusting their interior designs to ensure that their customers or consumers subconsciously feel better in their stores. Likewise, offices are adjusting relying greatly on creating productive spaces. Most of these changes have been achieved by the use of plants which professionals no longer consider simply for decoration but also other reasons.

Mental Benefits of Plants

Plants aid people in not feeling isolated.

Isolation mostly occurs for people who spend most of their time indoors whether working or resting. For this reason, most people place plants in homes, offices, and other areas to give people the feeling of connection to the natural world that exists around them as they move about their daily jobs.

A little play with dirt keeps us healthy.

Studies show that gardening boosts an individual’s mood despite it demanding lots of hard work. While the plant has good benefits, the soil in which they are rooted and weeded is equally beneficial since it acts as an antidepressant to the brain. While gardening may be tedious, indoor plants allow individuals to have this same experience that proves relaxing and satisfying to the brain. Researchers report that some positive bacteria found in the soil activates the production of the brain chemical serotonin in the brain cells which then alters an individual’s thoughts and behaviors similar to antidepressants.

  • Serotonin makes the blood vessels constrict sending a message between the brain and within.
  • Serotonin also regulates the production of digestive juices and aids in the passage of food in the food gullet.
  • The body enjoys several positive effects from Serotonin however, within the mood-regulating portions of the brain, serotonin is required in high levels. Through increasing serotonin levels in the brain, the plants and their soil assist individuals to battle several disorders. Examples of disorders prevented include anxiety, obsessive-compulsive disorder, depression, aggression, bipolar disorder, fibromyalgia, and irritable bowels.

Conclusion

Plants create a calm environment for occupants of a building when placed in a room. They improve people’s general happiness and mood. They are also stress relievers and help do away with anxiety. Through these benefits, then enhance mental health and aid healing, relaxation, and rejuvenation of the mental health aspects.