How Plants Can Improve Your Well-Being

I consider myself the ultimate "Plant Mom" if you will! I have them in every single room of the house and spend hours every week tending to them. I do this for a multitude of reasons. Plants bring me joy, they create a routine for me, they produce oxygen, they bring the outside in during long winters, plus they are pretty to look at and so so much more! 

Every Friday before work I walk around the house and one by one water my plants. I sip my coffee, relax and take that next however long to just focus on my breathing. 

The following is a list of how being a "Plant Mom" has improved my overall well-being! 

5 Reasons Plants Can Improve Your Well-Being

1. Plants can help reduce stress and boost your mood! Being able to see the greenery and smell the flowers can provide a calming effect. 
2. Plants can help to improve air quality!  Plants are widely credited with helping to reduce carbon dioxide levels as well as reducing other pollutants, helping you breathe better! 
3. They're pretty! There is no doubt that plants help to bring a certain aesthetic to your household, they can complete a rooms look and bring everything together. Sometimes it helps to just look at pretty things! 
4. They have healing properties!  At the bottom of the picture posted above you will see a decent size Aloe Vera plant right there in the middle. That plant has saved me numerous times. I am an extremely pale person and burn very easily, no matter how many times I re-apply sunscreen. I cant even begin to tell you the amount of times that I've come home after being in the sun and chopped off a piece of that plant. A cool shower followed by applying aloe straight from the plant is my #1 sunburn remedy. 
5. They can be food!  Growing herbs, fruits and veggies has always motivated me to cook. Being able to go over to your windowsill and grab some basil to make fresh pesto is an amazing thing. Getting a squash out of the garden to stir-fry for dinner is an amazing thing. I know that personally I am much more likely to actually take the time to cook a healthy meal when I have put in the time and hard work to grow the ingredients!

P.S. Getting out into your garden and working hard to grow things whether that be fruits and veggies or a beautiful flower bed can improve your mood in so many ways! 

-Christine