Do houseplants have beneficial effects on health?

In our modern societies, where everything seems to go faster and faster, many feel the harmful effects of stress and anxiety; however, this appears to have increased since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. During spring and summer 2020, many Quebecers took advantage of the beautiful weather to recharge their batteries in nature, either by visiting a park, camping, walking in the forest, or renting a cottage in the countryside. As winter approaches, contact with greenery becomes scarce and travel to regions with warmer climates is risky and strongly discouraged by Public Health. Apart from hiking in our beautiful coniferous forests, one of the only possible contacts with greenery during this long winter will be the green plants we take care of in our homes. Houseplants decorate and bring a natural touch to our homes, but do they have proven beneficial effects on our physical and mental health.

Stress reduction
A systematic review in 2019 identified some 50 studies on the psychological benefits of houseplants, most of these studies being of average quality. The most noticeable positive effects of houseplants on participants are an increase in positive emotions and a decrease in negative emotions, followed by a reduction in physical discomfort.

In a randomized, controlled crossover study of young adults, participants saw their mood improve more after transplanting an indoor plant than after performing a task on the computer. In addition, participants’ diastolic blood pressure and sympathetic nervous system activity (physiological response to stress) were significantly lower after transplanting a plant than after performing a computer task. These results indicate that interaction with houseplants can reduce psychological and physiological stress compared to mental tasks.

Plants in the office
In 2020, a Japanese team carried out a study on the effects of plants in the workplace on the level of psychological and physiological stress of workers. In the first phase of the study (1 week), workers worked at their desks without a plant, while in the intervention phase (4 weeks), participants could see and care for an indoor plant that they were able to choose from six different types (bonsai, Tillandsia, echeveria, cactus, leafy plant, kokedama). Participants were instructed to take a three-minute break when feeling tired and to take their pulse before and after the break. During these 3-minute breaks, workers had to look at their desks (with or without an indoor plant). Researchers measured psychological stress with the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI). The participants’ involvement was therefore both passive (looking at the plant) and active (watering and maintaining the plant).

The psychological stress assessed by STAI was significantly, albeit moderately, lower during the intervention in the presence of an indoor plant than during the period without the plant. The heart rate of the majority of patients (89%) was not significantly different before and after the procedure, while it decreased in 4.8% of participants and increased in 6.3% of patients. It must be concluded that the intervention had no effect on heart rate, which is an indicator of physiological stress, although it slightly reduced psychological stress.

A study of 444 employees in India and the United States indicates that office environments that include natural elements such as indoor plants and exposure to natural light positively influence job satisfaction and engagement. These natural elements seem to act as “buffers” against the effects of stress and anxiety generated by work.

Recovery after surgery
It appears that houseplants help patients recover after surgery, according to a study in a hospital in Korea. Eighty women recovering from thyroidectomy were randomly assigned to a room without plants or to a room with indoor plants (foliage and flowering). Data collected for each patient included length of hospital stay, use of analgesics to control pain, vital signs, intensity of perceived pain, anxiety and fatigue, STAI index (psychological stress), and other questionnaires. Patients who were hospitalized in rooms with indoor plants and flowers had shorter hospital stays, took fewer painkillers, experienced less pain, anxiety, and fatigue, and they had more positive emotions and greater satisfaction with their room than patients who recovered from their operation in a room without plants. The same researchers performed a similar study in patients recovering after an appendectomy. Again, patients who had plants and flowers in their rooms recovered better from their surgery than those who did not have plants in their rooms.

Improved attention and concentration
Twenty-three elementary school students (ages 11–13) participated in a study where they were put in a room with either an artificial plant, a real plant, a photograph of a plant, or no plant at all. The participants wore a wireless electroencephalography device during the three minutes of exposure to the different stimuli. Children who were put in the presence of a real plant were more attentive and better able to concentrate than those in the other groups. In addition, the presence of a real plant was associated with a better mood in general.

Productivity
A cross-sectional study of 385 office workers in Norway found a significant, albeit very modest, association between the number of plants in their office and the number of sick days and productivity. Workers who had more plants in their office took slightly fewer sick days and were a bit more productive on the job. In another study, American students were asked to perform computer tasks, with or without houseplants, in windowless rooms. In the presence of plants, participants were more productive (12% faster in performing tasks) and less stressed since their blood pressure was lower than in the absence of houseplants.

What about air quality?
Do plants purify the air in our homes? This is an interesting question since we spend a lot of time in increasingly airtight homes, and materials and our activity (e.g. cooking) emit pollutants such as volatile organic compounds (VOCs), oxidizing compounds (e.g. ozone), and fine particles. A NASA study showed that plants and associated microorganisms in the soil could reduce the level of pollutants in a small, sealed experimental chamber. Are these favourable results obtained in a laboratory also observable in our homes, schools and offices? Some studies (this one for example) conclude that plants decrease the concentrations of CO₂, VOCs and fine particles (PM₁₀). However, these results have been called into question by researchers (see this study) who question the methodology used in previous studies and who believe that plants are ineffective in improving the indoor air quality of our buildings. According to these researchers, it would be better to focus research efforts on other air-cleaning technologies as well as on the beneficial effects of plants on human health.

Conclusion
Indoor plants can provide health benefits by reducing psychological and physiological stress. Owning and maintaining plants can improve mood and increase attention and concentration. New, more powerful and better controlled studies will be needed to better identify and understand the effects of plants on human health.