Houseplants Reduce Stress, Boost Creativity

Pots of Health

Courtesy of Prevention

Interior decorators know that a potted plant can add life to a room, but they're more than accent pieces--they can make you healthier. We dug through decades of research to find the feel-good effects of houseplants, from boosting your creativity to beating the sniffles. Experts say you should have as much green as possible. Click through for the best plants to have in every room--and exactly what to do to reap the health benefits. Blooms away!

Plants to Fight Stress

A little green can instantly chill you out, finds a recent survey from Sweden. City dwellers there who frequently visited areas with grass and trees reported fewer feelings of burnout and panic than those who rarely saw greenery. It's not entirely clear why, but many studies have found something similar, says Virginia I. Lohr, PhD, a professor at Washington State University who has been studying the subject for more than 30 years. It's suggested that evolution wired humans to know that plants are essential to survival, so seeing one makes us calm and settled

Bamboo Palm

Researchers believe that just seeing greenery calms us down (it's an evolutionary response). This mini tree maximizes that effect by reaching heights up to 50 inches

Chinese Evergreen

In one study from Washington State University, people in a room of plants including this evergreen had a 4-point drop in their systolic blood pressure after taking a stressful test, compared with only a 2-point drop in a group that had no exposure to plants.

Arrowhead Vine

In one study, the arrowhead vine helped induce a 4-point drop in systolic blood pressure among stressed-out test subjects.

Snake Plant

Try a snake plant to bust stress in a window-free room, like an office-it thrives in low light.

Devil's Ivy

People who put Devil's ivy (also called golden pothos) in their offices described the space as more natural, personal, and refreshing, and said they felt much less job-related stress, according to German researchers.

Plants to Fight Colds

Dry air can lead to a parched nose and throat--and raise the risk of infection or run-of-the-mill sinusitis, says Michael Janson, MD, author of User's Guide to Heart-Healthy Supplements. But houseplants can inject moisture back into the air and boost humidity by up to 5, finds research from Bavarian State Institute of Viticulture and Horticulture in Germany. A humidifier would do more, but the natural boost from plants is enough to help alleviate symptoms. According to a study from the Agricultural University of Norway, people with table and floor-standing plants in their offices reported 37 less coughing

English Ivy

Small openings on the underside of a plant's leaves release moisture into the air, boosting humidity to alleviate cold symptoms. Because of English ivy's high volume of leaves, horticulturists recommend it as one of the most effective cold-fighting plants.

Heart-leaf Philodendron

In one study from the Agricultural University of Norway, people with office plants including the heart-leaf philodendron reported 37 less coughing and 25 less hoarseness after 3 months than when they left their offices plant-free.