Recent research has revealed that the presence of a potted plant on your desk can help reduce fatigue, stress, dry throat, headache, cough and dry skin, reports the Daily Mail.
Led by environmental psychology expert Dr Tina Bringslimark, Norwegian and Swedish researchers studied 385 office workers, their sick leave rates, and the number of plants they could see from their desk. Interestingly, researchers noted that the more plants the worker could see, the fewer sick days they took.
It is believed that plants and microbes in their soil absorb volatile organic compounds that can harm health.
“There could also be a psychological explanation in that people believe plants are healthier and are likely to evaluate their own health more optimistically,’ said Dr Bringslimark.
A U.S. study looked at workers who completed timed computer tasks in rooms with and without plants. The workers were more productive, with a 12 per cent faster reaction time, and less stressed, with a lower blood pressure rate, when plants were present.
Dr Bringslimark believes that leafy plants may be better than flowering plants: “Large foliage surfaces produce most oxygen and help decompose toxic substances in the air.”