Keeping small plants in the workplace can help to reduce stress, researchers claim.
Experts from the University of Hyogo in Japan have investigated the ways indoor plants may be able to boost mental health among employees typically removed from exposure to healthy, green environments.
The study, led by Masahiro Toyoda, involved 63 office workers, each of whom were asked to take a three-minute rest while sitting at their desks when they felt fatigued.
Following a control period without plants, and one in which the participants were able to see and care for a plant, the researchers found that the workers’ pulse rate lowered significantly after a rest and plant interaction.
Participants were offered a choice of six different types of plants to keep on their desks: air plants, bonsai plants, San Pedro cactus, foliage plants, kokedama, or echeveria.
“The calming effects calculated during the study showed that anxiety decreased significantly from pre- to post-intervention,” the study authors commented. “The results did not skew when looking at the data within the various age groups of the workers or with different plant selections.”
Accordingly, the researchers suggest placing small plants within close sight contributed to psychological stress reduction across the board.
“At present, not so many people fully understand and utilise the benefit of stress recovery brought by plants in the workplace. To ameliorate such situations, we decided it essential to verify and provide scientific evidence for the stress restorative effect by nearby plants in a real office setting,” added Toyoda.
