BAY CITY, Mich. -- Besides the obvious visual appeal, houseplants provide a ton of benefits to virtually all aspects of your health. January 10th is Houseplant Appreciation Day, and we at Graff Bay City thought a perfect way to celebrate would be to share with you 5 reasons why you need a little green in your home!
1. IMPROVED AIR QUALITY
When you breathe, you inhale oxygen while exhaling carbon dioxide. For plants, it's the opposite! Through the process of photosynthesis, houseplants absorb the CO2 and replace it with oxygen, making it less stuffy and easier to breathe. On top of that, research has shown that plants also work as natural air purifiers. Most homes nowadays are climate-controlled and air-tight, resulting in trapped volatile organic compounds (VOCs) like formaldehyde (present in shopping bags, rugs, vinyl, and cigarette smoke), benzene and trichloroethylene (both present in man-made fibers, solvents, and paint). Plants pull these potentially harmful toxins directly into their soil, where the roots convert them into food.
2. PROPER HUMIDITY
When the air is too dry in your house, it can lead to all sorts of uncomfortable issues like itchy skin, chapped lips, sore throats, dry coughs, and sinus congestion. Rather than spending money on a big, clunky humidifier that you have to plug in and constantly refill - consider getting some houseplants instead! Plants release about 97% of the water they absorb back into the air. By placing several of them together, they help keep the humidity in your home at an acceptable level.
3. SENSE OF WELL-BEING
According to researchers at Kansas State University, having plants in hospital rooms drastically sped up the recovery process for post-op patients. The study showed that the patients with plants requested less pain medication, had lower heart rates and blood pressure, experienced less anxiety and fatigue, and were released back home much sooner than those without plants in their rooms. If you live with depression or anxiety, consider adding some houseplants to brighten up your space!
4. BETTER HEALTH
When the Dutch Product Board for Horticulture performed a study on the benefits of having plants in offices, they found the occurrence of fatigue, colds, headaches, coughs, sore throats, and flu-like symptoms sharply decreased. The Agricultural University of Norway backed this up, finding that office sickness rates fell by 60% due to the presence of plants. If you're prone to getting sick easily or have a lot of people in your home, call on nature's immune booster to help lessen your chance of catching something!
5. SHARPENED FOCUS
The Royal College of Agriculture in England found that students who were taught and lectured in classrooms with plants demonstrated 70% better attentiveness than those without. If you need a little extra help staying productive and focused during your daily tasks, bring in some houseplants and let them do their thing!
Do you have any plants in your home? What benefits do you notice? Tell us in the comments!
Hank Graff Chevy is located at 3636 Wilder Road, Bay City, MI 48706 and we are here to help our community grow to become an even better place to call home! For more information on Hank Graff Chevrolet, or for any questions call us at (989) 684-4411 or visit our website: www.GraffBayCity.com.
