The Positive Effects of Indoor Plants Fact Sheet

Overview

Indoor plants have many positive effects. You can use them to clean and deodorize the air, or to lower stress levels in your home or office.

Lowering Stress

Environmental psychology students from Surrey University studied the effects of indoor plants on stress and found decreased levels in rooms and offices with indoor plants.

Deodorizing Effect

Well-sealed buildings don't replace the inside air frequently. This can cause your house or room to smell stale or stagnant. A flowering plant or fragrant evergreen acts as a natural air freshener.

Minimizing Pollution

Healthy Green at Work, an organization that campaigns for plants in the workplace, lists plants as a good source of air cleaning and purification in buildings with higher pollution levels. Placing plants around an office may help to reduce symptoms of "sick building syndrome," the group says.

Reducing Noise

Indoor plants can help reduce noise. Plants interrupt the path of sound waves, preventing them from reflecting from hard surfaces. This helps to lower indoor sound levels.

Controlling Heat

Indoor plants can help to absorb heat in the summer.

Boosting Oxygen

Plants take in carbon dioxide and release oxygen. This has a positive effect on oxygen levels and can help to clear the air of carbon dioxide produced by stoves, candles or other sources of combustion.