We live and work in cities… Existing for many hours a day in tall office buildings in unnatural environments, with little or no time to interact with nature. Numerous studies suggest that interacting with nature is critical to overall health.  Experiencing nature in some form can help lower blood pressure, reduce stress, encourage faster healing and increase overall happiness.  Looking out at a park or some tree tops from a high rise window can lead to increased job satisfaction, improved mood and a higher level of productivity at work.  Bringing plants indoors helps to satiate our longing for nature in our work-a-day lives.

 

NASA’s well-known study in 1989 was looking for ways to curb air pollution in confined spaces such as a space station.  They found that commonly available house plants reduced as much as 90% of toxins from the air in a very short amount of time.  Contaminants like benzene and chloroform are common and  present in many of the plastics and artificial materials that compose indoor office spaces.  The strategic placement of tropical indoor plants lends an undeniably natural aesthetic to any indoor space and, rest assured, these photosynthesizers,  are working overtime to strip the indoor air of harmful contaminants.  ‘Win-win’