Best Houseplants To De-Stress


Stress is a major concern for people in our generation. In a story published by Time Magazine, it was reported that in 90% of the patients seeing a doctor listed stress as one of the reasons why they were there.

De-Stressing

Many people take steps (on their own) to de-stress their bodies. Some of the steps include:
  • Eliminating caffeine
  • Reducing their sugar intake
  • Meditation
  • Exercising
  • Taking supplements (like Saint John's Wort)
  • Seeing their doctor
  • Taking a vacation or at least a weekend trip
While these things are a great part of your plan to reduce your level of stress, are they enough? Your home should be your safe-zone. When you leave your home and go into the world, you expect stress to come at you. You expect to deal with unreasonable employers, customers, and co-workers. You expect to face traffic jams, kids who come down for breakfast 4 minutes before time to walk out the door and insist on waffles with a drop of syrup in each square. When you return home at the end of the day, if you don’t sigh a huge release, your home needs to be de-stressed.
Put Houseplants to Work

You know that house plants take in carbon dioxide and put off oxygen. Since humans take in oxygen and put off carbon dioxide, this is a match made in heaven. But does it really matter? It matters because the entire process of switching from one chemical for another creates a de-stressed atmosphere. How do we know? NASA tested the effect this process has on astronauts in an atmosphere where there was no other source of the oxygen and carbon dioxide. The astronauts were in the tight quarters that a spaceship affords. The results were a calmness that was above what had ever been reported before.



Photo credit: Andrejs Sims

Which Plants

You can grow any plants you like. But, there are a few that we believe you should keep for various reasons.

Growing Lemon Mint

Lemon mint gives your home a lite and citrus aroma. While it is not as strong as smelling the essential oils that are taken from the plant, you are absorbing a small amount of the oils from them.


Snake Plant

The Snake Plant is a must for your bedroom. It grows tall and looks great in a corner. What is special about this plant? Glad you asked. Do you remember that entire process we explained about plants taking in carbon dioxide and putting off oxygen? Well, it seems they do that during the day. Most of us work during the day, though we do appreciate it on our days off and holidays. Still, Snake Plants are an exception. They work at night, giving us clean air at night while our children are sleeping.


The Rubber Tree

If you are looking for a plant that will grow well in limited or almost no sunlight, only gets water when you happen to pass it with your bottle of water in your hand and you are willing to share. The Rubber Tree is great because it removes a lot of toxins from the air and it is a pretty plant. Just water it to keep the soil moist and every once in awhile wipe off the leaves with a damp paper towel.



Photo credit: Mike Marquez

Plants that De-Stress The Home and Help With Allergies

Today’s homes are pretty much airtight. People who suffer from allergies suffer indoors and out. The following list of plants helps you de-stress your homes and also clears the air of allergens. Like the plants above, they are all given the stamp of approval from NASA.
  • Golden Pothos
  • Philodendron
  • Bamboo Palm
  • Mums
  • Peace Lilies
  • Red Edge Dracaena

Final Thoughts

Nature always has a solution for what bothers us. Keeping us healthy and happy is on her radar. Sometimes we have to try a few things to find the right combination for us. But, we are worth the trouble. The world promises to get more populated. Life promises to get more congested. We would be wise to find what works best for us sooner than later. This ensures you a much more comfortable summer.