12 February 2020
A Bouquet A Day… Health Benefits of Having Fresh Flowers and Plants in Your Home
When doing your weekly shopping, it’s likely that you have your list planned out, but how often does that include flowers?
You may often walk straight past the florist, but have you considered the health benefits of displaying a bunch of flowers or keeping potted plants around your home? You can buy a bouquet of flowers for just a few pounds in many shops, and with a number of health benefits now thought to be linked with having plants around the home, why not add flowers to your weekly shopping list?
Improved Concentration
You may find it difficult to stay focussed whether that’s when you’re working, reading or doing household chores, but keeping plants in your home has been found to help with concentration and even improve your memory. Plants oxygenate the air which can boost brain cells to help you stay motivated and complete tasks.
Using these plants can keep your brain healthy and enhance cognitive function:
- Jade Plant
- Money Plant
- Bamboo Palm
- Orchids
- Peperomias
- English Ivy
- Boston Fern
Mood-boosters
There is a reason why flowers and plants make popular gifts for people who have been feeling under the weather. Despite the fact that giving someone a bunch of flowers is thoughtful, just looking at plants and flowers every day can make people feel relaxed and encourage positive thoughts. There are some plants that have genuine calm-inducing qualities, while others are simply pleasant to look at around your home.
Try placing these plants around your house to increase air quality and boost your mood:
- Lavender
- Aloe Vera
- Gerbera
- Roses
- Peace Lily
- Ficus
Prevent Illness
Having plants around your home can be an effective way to help deter illness. If you’re prone to the common cold and you often suffer from a weak immune system, studies show that using plants in interior places decreases the incidence of dry skin, colds, sore throats and dry coughs. Other studies reveal that higher humidity is contributive to the flu virus.
Place these plants around your home to improve your health:
- Spider Plant
- Snake Plant
- Rosemary
- Areca Palm
- Kimberly Queen Fern
- Echinacea
Improve Mental Health
As part of self-care when helping to improve mental health, buying yourself a bouquet of flowers to keep in your hallway or on your bedside table, where you can see them every day, could make a huge difference to boost your mood. A study in the UK found that people who live surrounded by natural habitats report much happier moods than those who live away from it. Having plants in your home helps to give the impression of a natural environment and a feeling of more space - important if you live in a city centre for example.
The scent of certain flowers can also help you feel more relaxed and happier in general. Your sense of smell is also connected to your memory so if you smell a bunch of flowers in your home while you’re relaxed, you will always feel calm when you remember that scent.
These plants and flowers are known to aid better mental health:
- Roses
- Iris
- Coriander
- Chrysanthemums
- Lisianthus
- Jasmine
Herb Garden
Have you ever thought about starting your own indoor herb garden? We use a variety of different herbs in our cooking every day, but there are also some herbs which have great health benefits in helping better sleep or aiding digestion. Grow your own herbs to save money in the supermarket with the added health benefits. Peppermint and Basil can help with digestion. Sage can improve brain function and memory. Rosemary improves digestion and enhances concentration. Parsley is easy to grow and is effective in controlling allergic inflammations. To improve sleep quality you could grow lavender as the scent encourages deep sleep by decreasing your heart rate and blood pressure. Get started with your indoor herb garden!
Next time you’re at the shops, treat yourself to a vibrant bunch of flowers and display them somewhere you can look at them regularly - your bedside table, next to the TV or in the kitchen. Invest in some potted plants for your home and place a few in each room of your house with different benefits and see if you notice a difference in your mood and productivity. You could even sign up to a flower subscription service to ensure that a beautiful bouquet will be put through your letterbox every month!