6 reasons to keep a plant in your room

Let’s all admit it, those cute little potted succulents we see at the grocery stores, florist shops or even IKEA definitely attracts attention. At the end of the summer, I finally gave in to the temptation and got for myself a couple of indoor plants that looked aesthetically pleasing. I must say those small succulents definitely have distinct looks and personality!

6 reasons to keep a plant in your room

Setup a place specially for these terrariums. And not long after, the tropical plants displayed in a florist’s shop near my house caught my eye. It didn’t take long for me get those plants. Some were displayed in the bedroom on the computer desks. Absolutely lovely!

All these indoor plants do give the room a nice “aesthetic”, but you may be wondering, are there any benefits to these cute little indoor plants? Here are the six reasons why anyone should consider getting a plant for your room.

 1. They Help Your Eyesight

Most students find themselves staring at the computer screen for pretty long hours each day. And according to All About Vision, “ 20-20-20” rule should be followed when using the computers; take a break after every 20 minutes and look at something 20 feet away for 20 seconds. This exercise would help to relieve eye strain from staring too long at the computer, which can cause dry eyes, blurred vision and more.

So how to plants factor into this? A study conducted by the Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin had 69 men and women participants to take 2 minutes to find and come up with as many uses for the tin can as possible. Before the experiment started, half of them were shown a white rectangle and other half a green one. They were then given 2 minutes before their ideas about the tin can was rated for its creativity. It was concluded that participants who saw the green rectangle before the test were able to come up with more interesting and creative ideas. Therefore, by looking at a green plant while following the “20-20-20” rule not only helps to reduce eye strain but increases one’s creativity as well.

2. They Clean Your Air

Do not underestimate the ability of indoor plants when in comes to changing the air quality in your living space. While it usually does requires a significant number of plants to achieve the maximum air purifying potential, but a few indoor plants are better than none.

NASA conducted a study, called the Study of Interior Landscape Plants for Indoor Air Pollution Abatement, reported “that for virtually, all plants tested, the reductions in benzene and formaldehyde are significant”. These teratogens are commonly found in our air, thus it is beneficial to have a plant in our living room to help reduce the levels of teratogens in our living space.

3. They Keep Your Room Cleaner

Don’t be mistaken, they won’t do the laundry you hate doing. But what they have, is the potential to reduce dust accumulation in your living space. According to studies conducted, dust accumulated was significantly lower in rooms with plants present than in rooms with plants absent. Dust can be reduced by as much as 20% when plants are around. So you may very well ditch the duster and let the cute little plants help you keep your room free from dust!

4. They Make Studying Easier

I believe we can all relate to the feeling of hopelessness when trying our best to study in our own room. It can be really hard to focus on schoolwork. So having a plant on the desk help with that? According to studies, having indoor plants in offices can help to reduce or prevent fatigue during work that demands a lot of attention. Sometimes, even just glancing over a the potted plant could help to motivate you to finish up that essay. According to Dr. Stephanie Lichtenfeld, green may serve as a cue that sparks the motivation to strive even further for improvement and task mastery. This in turn facilitate growth.

Plants can actually help to reduce our stress levels. According to studies, it suggested that as compared with mental work, having active interaction with indoor plants is more effective in reducing physiological and psychological stress. How is this accomplished? The suppression of sympathetic nervous system activity and diastolic blood pressure and promotion of relaxed, calmed and unaffected feeling helps to relieve stress. So, does the idea of plant helping to reduce mental and emotional stress makes you want to get a plant for your room? I don’t know about you, but it’s a big YES from me!

6. They Make for Really Nice Instagram Pictures

It isn’t something new. But there’s no harm mentioning to you that uploading a couple of well-shot pictures on your Instagram might help to groom your Instagram in a way that makes your room or dorm look like a dream.

Now, if you’re worried about keeping those plants alive in your room, fret not! The indoor plants like succulents, fern and coffee plants all requires very low maintenance. Just have to keep in mind to not put them under the sunlight directly and water them once a week, and you’ll be able to keep them well and healthy.

Some other low maintenance plants you might want to consider for your living space are lucky bamboo, jade plants, aloe vera, snake plants and spider plants.

So the next time you head out for shopping and happens to walk past any shops that displays tempting potted plants, don’t forget to consider all the amazing benefits that comes along with these cute little potted plants.

Read more articles pertaining to plants and the ways to maintain them longer.