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Stress Busting Plants

Indoor plants can reduce fatigue, coughs, sore throats, and other cold related illnesses by more than 30%. Extensive research already shows that houseplants alleviate stress, help us relax, and increase our general wellbeing. This study aimed to discover how far houseplants could benefit our physical and psychological health.

Office staff, working in offices 10m2, were questioned on their health, particularly symptoms related to spending a lot of time indoors and being under stress. After two months without plants, a range of houseplants were placed in half the offices. After a year, the plants were swapped to those offices with no plants in. After another year all staff were questioned on what effect the plants hah had on their health and well being.

Professional contractors looked after the plants, so any benefits to the office staff were from looking at the plants and the plants' effect on the atmosphere and air quality, rather than from nurturing them.

The results show when staff had plants in their offices, there was a significant drop of around 25% in tiredness, coughing, sore throats and cold related illnesses. Eight out of ten stated that "I feel good when there are plants in the office". Eight out of ten said "I would like to have more plants in my office in the future"

Indoor plants can reduce fatigue, coughs, sore throats and other cold related illnesses by more than 30%.

Across the spring months in 1995 & 1996 Professor Dr Tove Fjeld and her team of researchers conducted a series of studies to ascertain whether the presence of living indoor plants could improve office workers' health and reduce incidents of minor illnesses and ailments.

The participants were employees at a hospital radiology department. Each placed commonly-used foliage plants into containers onto a window bench and in the back corner of their office for a period of approximately three months. All worked in single office rooms which were identical with a floor area of 10msq and a window covering most of the outer wall. The participant was then required to complete a questionnaire across various stages of the research period.

The key findings highlighted that complaints regarding coughs and fatigue were reduced by 37% and 30% respectively, and hoarse throat and dry or itching facial skin each decreased approximately 23%. If the symptoms were clustered, a significant reduction was obtained.

When the participants were grouped according to how much of their daily work took place in their office, a 34% decrease in complaints was found among those who spent most of their day in the room. This compared to 21 and 17% respectively, among those working approximately 50% or less in the room

Table: Mean scores of 12 symptoms.

Symptom scores indicate the self-experienced health and discomfort the same day as the questionnaire was filled out.

Number of subjects: 48.

0= no symptoms 1= minor symptoms 2= moderate symptoms 3= severe symptoms.

Adapted from research by Dr Tove Fjeld of University of Agriculture, Norway, 1994-1996 for the Flower Council of Holland.