Importance of indoor plants

Plants help reduce stress and create a feeling of well-being

Most of us know instinctively that being close to greenery makes us feel more at ease with our surroundings. We experience less stress when there are plants around us. Buildings are quieter and more relaxed but, at the same time, more stimulating and interesting. A substantial body of academic research has shown conclusively that interior landscaping has dramatic effects on the wellbeing of building occupants. 

People in offices are more productive, take fewer sick days, make fewer mistakes, and they are happier when interior landscaping enhances their environment.

Patients in hospitals benefit greatly from being more in touch with nature. There is even evidence showing students perform better in improved learning environments. 

Plants help improve air quality

There is general agreement amongst scientists that plants improve the indoor environment and are useful in fighting the modern phenomenon of Sick Building Syndrome (SBS). 

No specific cause of SBS has been identified but poor air quality, excessive background noise and inadequate control of light and humidity are all thought to be important factors. 

Because plants have large surface areas and exchange gases and water with their surroundings, plants can help tackle some of these issues. 

Particular benefits of interior plants include: 

1. Reducing carbon dioxide levels 
2. Increasing humidity 
3. Reducing levels of certain pollutants, such as benzene and nitrogen dioxide 
4. Reducing airborne dust levels 
5. Keeping air temperatures down 

Learn more about the benefits of interior landscaping, also discover the role of these benefits in Green buildings and sustainable building management.

Plants help lower background noise

Plants have long been used to reduce noise from busy roads. More recently, research has shown another benefit: interior plants can help to reduce background noise levels inside buildings, too. 

Our own studies indicate that plants and their leaves absorb, diffract or reflect background noise, thereby making the environment more comfortable for the occupants. 

With our support, Peter Costa, a postgraduate student at South Bank University, London, found that certain plants are particularly good at absorbing high frequencies. 

Plants absorb sound best in acoustically live spaces, such as those that feature hard surfaces. Learn more about the benefits of interior landscaping. 

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A healthy diet is essential for good health and nutrition

It protects you against many chronic noncommunicable diseases, such as heart disease, diabetes, and cancer. Eating a variety of foods and consuming less salt, sugars and saturated and industrially-produced trans-fats, are essential for a healthy diet.

A healthy diet comprises a combination of different foods. These include:

• Staples like cereals (wheat, barley, rye, maize or rice) or starchy tubers or roots (potato, yam, taro or cassava).
• Legumes (lentils and beans).
• Fruit and vegetables.
• Foods from animal sources (meat, fish, eggs, and milk).

Here is some useful information, based on WHO recommendations, to follow a healthy diet, and the benefits of doing so.

• Breastfeed babies and young children:
  • A healthy diet starts early in life - breastfeeding fosters healthy growth and may have longer-term health benefits, like reducing the risk of becoming overweight or obese and developing noncommunicable diseases later in life.
  • Feeding babies exclusively with breast milk from birth to 6 months of life is important for a healthy diet. It is also important to introduce a variety of safe and nutritious complementary foods at 6 months of age while continuing to breastfeed until your child is two years old and beyond.
  
  
• Eat plenty of vegetables and fruit:
  • They are important sources of vitamins, minerals, dietary fiber, plant protein, and antioxidants.
  • People with diets rich in vegetables and fruit have a significantly lower risk of obesity, heart disease, stroke, diabetes and certain types of cancer.
  
  
• Eat less fat:
  • Fats and oils and concentrated sources of energy. Eating too much, particularly the wrong kinds of fat, like saturated and industrially-produced trans-fat, can increase the risk of heart disease and stroke.
  • Using unsaturated vegetable oils (olive, soy, sunflower or corn oil) rather than animal fats or oils high in saturated fats (butter, ghee, lard, coconut, and palm oil) will help consume healthier fats.
  • To avoid unhealthy weight gain, consumption of total fat should not exceed 30% of a person's overall energy intake.
  
  
• Limit intake of sugars:
  • For a healthy diet, sugars should represent less than 10% of your total energy intake. Reducing even further to under 5% has additional health benefits.
  • Choosing fresh fruits instead of sweet snacks such as cookies, cakes, and chocolate helps reduce consumption of sugars.
  • Limiting intake of soft drinks, soda and other drinks high in sugars (fruit juices, cordials and syrups, flavored milk and yogurt drinks) also help reduce intake of sugars.
  
  
• Reduce salt intake:
  • Keeping your salt intake to less than 5h per day helps prevent hypertension and reduces the risk of heart disease and stroke in the adult population.
  • Limiting the amount of salt and high-sodium condiments (soy sauce and fish sauce) when cooking and preparing foods helps reduce salt intake.

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