Your rugs and carpets are the
biggest filter in your home and just like your air conditioning filter they filter out airborne soils that pass through them. Keeping these objects properly cleaned and maintained is vitally important to your health. What about bringing plants into the home as well, to assist with this filtering process? When you embellish interior spaces with houseplants, you’re not just adding greenery. These living organisms interact with your body, mind and home in ways that enhance the quality of life.
Breathing Easier When you breathe, your body takes in oxygen and releases carbon dioxide. During photosynthesis, plants absorb carbon dioxide and release oxygen. Adding plants to interior spaces can increase oxygen levels. At night, photosynthesis ceases, and plants typically respire like humans, absorbing oxygen and releasing carbon dioxide. A few plants – orchids, succulents and epiphytic bromeliads – do just the opposite, taking in carbon dioxide and releasing oxygen. Place these plants in bedrooms to refresh air during the night.
Releasing Water As part of the photosynthetic and respiratory processes, plants release moisture vapor, which increases humidity of the air around them. Plants release roughly 97 percent of the water they take in. Place several plants together, and you can increase the humidity of a room, which helps keeps respiratory distresses at bay. Studies at the Agricultural University of Norway document that using plants in interior spaces decreases the incidence of dry skin, colds, sore throats and dry coughs.
Setting the Mood A study published in the Journal of Environmental Psychology reports that people who have plants in their home have higher mood levels and experience less stress and fatigue. Cheerful moods follow houseplant growers to work, where they have better attitudes toward their work and their coworkers. Interiorscape designers take advantage of the effects of plants on people to make hard surfaces and sharp corners seem softer, resulting in a feeling of comfort and well-being in living spaces with plants. Plants bring natural beauty to our living spaces. They also help clean the air we breathe by absorbing toxins and acting as little oxygen factories. Plants simply make us feel better!