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Having plants around your house adds to your home’s aesthetic appeal. But houseplants are more than mere decorations; they can also help improve your emotional healthy as well as your indoor air quality.
Living close to nature may help you live longer and happier. Hospital patients who have a view of nature recover from surgery and illness faster.
Studies also show that plants in the work place reduced stress in office workers and lowered the number of sick days taken, lessened fatigue and stress, and made employees feel more productive.
Students were also found to be more attentive and more likely to return to class if there were plants in the lecture hall.
With regards to physical health benefits, NASA, in cooperation with the Associated Landscape Contractors of America, conducted a classic study on the benefits of plants on indoor air, which showed that houseplants can remove up to 87 percent of air toxins in 24 hours.
NASA believes that common houseplants can serve as “living air purifiers” which “absorb chemical pollutants resulting from synthetic materials in the living area.”
You should be concerned about the air you breathe at home because indoor air can be up to 10 times more polluted than outdoor air. Among the most common pollutants are volatile organic compounds (VOCs), toxic gases emitted from paints, cleansers, air fresheners, vinyl floors, carpets, upholstery fabrics, and much more.
VOCs can cause cancer and damage your central nervous system, kidney and liver, Dr. Joseph Mercola explains. Other potentially toxic vapors which may be lurking indoors include ammonia, benzene, toluene and xylene.
While Dr. Mercola believes that a quality indoor air purifier can greatly help improve the air you breathe at home, houseplants can provide an extra buffer.
According to New Ecologist, here are the top 10 pollution-busting houseplants:
- African Violets – Has pretty purple flowers and is easy to propagate. Grows in moderate light and temperature.
- Christmas Cactus – Has beautiful fuchsia, orange, pink, red and violet colored glossy blooms. Needs adequate light and water and produces its best blooms during Christmas.
- Devil’s Ivy – A beautiful vine which requires little care. Is excellent against benzene, carbon monoxide and formaldehyde. But don’t let your pets ingest it.
- English Ivy – Ideal for those who have pets as it filters fecal particles, formaldehyde aerosols and other toxins. Warning: this plant is poisonous.
- Feston Rose Plant – Bears many flowers with variegated colors, is low maintenance and leaves a pleasant smell while helping purify the air.
- Garlic Vine – Has flowers and leaves that smell like garlic and onions when crushed.
- Parlor Ivy – Has a small, deep green heart-shaped leaves and helps filter out unwanted chemicals.
- Peace Lily – Bears attractive white flowers which grow under moderate to low light. Needs moist soil to thrive. Filters out the smell of adhesives, nail polish, paints and solvents.
- Phalaenopsis – Has big white and pinkish flowers and very fleshy leaves.
- Yellow Goddess – Makes an excellent house plant due to its diminutive size but big showy yellow flowers.
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