Can Houseplants Really Help Your Mental Health?

If your millennial self has accumulated an inordinate number of plants in the past year, you’re not alone. Fiddle-Leaf Figs? Check. Random succulents we aren’t sure are even growing or alive anymore? Check. Devil’s ivy that has grown so long you don’t even know what to do with it? Check. 

Some of us have even given names to our plant children (yes, we’re calling them plant children and we know you’ve referred to them as your kids too). Is there, however, an effect these plants have on us besides lowering the balance in our bank accounts? 

The answer? Yes! The actual act of taking care of plants like watering them, dusting  them off, making sure they get the right amount of sunlight-to-shade ratio doesn’t just benefit the plant itself. You can basically equate this care to a form of gardening, whether it be indoors or outdoors. Gardening itself has proven to be extremely beneficial to our mental health as a whole. Multiple studies have shown how the act of gardening helps relieve stress, decrease anxiety, improve creativity, and serve as a good distraction for your brain. These benefits alone help increase overall happiness. There are even therapeutic gardens in hospitals to provide a space where patients can connect with nature and even help in the healing process. 

There’s also another, more shallow, element as to why plants make us feel better - They can make us feel good about ourselves. You know the satisfaction of when you work hard on a big project, a really difficult recipe, or if you just help someone out? Well, taking care of plants might also provide the same kind of satisfaction. There’s something about watching something grow and thrive, and knowing it’s because you’ve taken care of it properly, especially if it’s a high maintenance plant (we’re looking at you Fiddle-Leaf Fig). 

If you’re still not convinced that plants can improve your mental health, there are a TON of in-depth studies that have been conducted on the subject. These aren’t just fictional statements, or a scheme to make you spend more money. These are scientifically backed claims, and at the end of the day, who doesn’t want to be a part of the plant parenthood community?