Benefits of Plants for Mental Health

In today’s world of hustle and bustle, along with the constant struggle of professional and work lives, people often find themselves in the midst of stress and anxiety. This anxiety can lead to health problems and mental concerns, which might impact the everyday life of a person. In such a stressful environment, there aren’t many artificially created remedies that can heal a person’s psychological health.

One incredibly relieving practice is gardening and interaction with plant life. There are many stress-relieving plants for mental health in nature which have better effects on our health than others according to studies. In this article, we’re going to talk about how gardening can be used as a method of stress-relief and comfort to calm the mental state of people of all ages struggling in their everyday work and professional lives.

How Can Plants Provide Mental Health Satisfaction?

Well, it’s actually fairly simple to understand. The stress and adversities that the mental health of a human being faces because of the rise of technicalities and technological advancement in professional industries are contrasted by the calming, somber, and peaceful natural interaction with plant life and mother nature. In a natural environment, a person feels light and peaceful, able to be creative, and doesn’t have to worry about fulfilling expectations. Instead, the person can just be as they want to be and achieve mental satisfaction.

According to the National Institute of Health, a research was conducted with people being compared after stressful activities on a computer and interacting with plants and it showed that the people interacting with plants were more relaxed and stress-free which led to the result that the natural environment of plants is very therapeutic and satisfactory for the mental health of human beings.

Types of Plants for Curing Depression and Anxiety

All plants, in general, have a soothing effect on the mental health of people however studies show that some plants have a more effective calming presence and are used in different mental disease treatments as well. Here are some of the plants recommended in curing depression and anxiety by psychologists.

Lavender

Lavender is one of the most commonly used plants for curing stress and anxiety. The reason for such a widespread use of lavender and its by-products is the calming and soothing effect of the plant itself. The lavender plant interacts with the neurotransmitters and helps the brain and nervous system reduce strenuous activities and provides relief to the mental state of the interacting person.

Lavender oil is also very widely used in anti-depressants and anxiety pills which provide a sedative effect on the user and relaxes their nerves and brain. In addition to the calming nature of lavender, the beautiful and visually aesthetic color also provides happiness and reduces stress in people. Therefore, lavenders are a must to have in your therapeutic garden.

Peppermint

Perhaps the most popular form of part is the peppermint plant. The leaves of this plant are already being used in making gums, candies, and other consumables in order to calm the mental state of people. Peppermint is known for having a very calming and peaceful effect on the nervous system and is also known to enhance brain activity positively.

Peppermint extract and menthol are extremely beneficial in terms of lowering frustration and reducing anxiety. That is the reason why body soaps and bath products also have a small percentage of the aforementioned compounds in them. It is very easy to obtain peppermint and it is also very effective in treating anxiety and depression, so you should definitely get it.

Jade Plant

One of the more unique and less common plant types in this list is the Jade Plant. For your information, the Jade plant looks like a small tree and is darkish green in color. It makes for an ideal houseplant. You can get it for yourself fairly easily. The Jade plant is known to reduce the chemicals in the air of our natural environment. These chemicals can have a stressful and harmful effect on our minds and bodies.

The plant is visually extremely satisfying and has natural calming features as well. It makes for an excellent therapeutic gift for others as well as yourself. It requires good maintenance which can increase your relaxation period because of the general calmness and stress-free environment that gardening and plant culturing provides.

Aloe Vera

This plant is used in multiple ways for different treatment and healing methods. The aloe gel can be used in hair products in order to increase growth and also in skin products to make the skin softer and smoother. But the main use of Aloe Vera in gardens and houses is that it purifies the air and reduces the irritation causing chemicals in the air which stops stress and uneasiness from reaching us. Aloe Vera doesn’t require a lot of gardening prowess and it is easily maintained and provides a number of mental and physical health benefits that make it one of the best plants for curing anxiety, stress, and depression in humans.

Chamomile

Chamomile is known for its stress-relieving features. The leaves are used in preparing Chamomile tea which is very effective in treating insomnia and depression. Not only does it treat insomnia, but the smell of chamomile also provides calmness to the brain and reduces stress and anxiety in the mind of a human being.

The beauty of the flowers itself is astonishing and the wonderful fragrance, as well as the strong taste, provides relaxation to the nervous system which is exactly why it is recommended by medical professionals as a remedy against sleep disorders and is often taken before bed. Having a chamomile plant in your garden is a must in order to treat stress and depression.

The Use of Therapeutic Gardens

Across the world, various medical facilities, as well as therapeutic organizations and companies, surround their buildings with luscious green gardens and flowers for cleansing the environment and providing a calming and visually appealing effect to the atmosphere. This, however, isn’t the only reason such amazing gardens encompass the entire facilities. Due to a multitude of studies suggesting the healing and beneficial nature of plants and greenery and their positive effect on the mental health of people, these therapeutic gardens are one of the many necessities of every medical organization.

Health Benefits of Plants and Gardening

The following are some of the major health benefits that human beings can receive by gardening and interacting with plants.

Better Air Quality Ensures Better Health

One of the biggest factors that make gardening and planting better is air purity. The air around us due to pollutants being released from different factories and even cars and other vehicles has become extremely polluted and harmful for the environment and animal life as well. This can have extremely adverse effects on the health of human beings as well as the basic wildlife in a certain area. However, planting trees and other plants along with basic gardening in every household can greatly counteract this pollution.

By increasing the level of oxygen and reducing the level of harmful gases in the environment, plants encourage the purity of the quality of air and make sure that the environment remains unharmed. This obviously leads to lesser chemicals making their way to the respiratory system and in turn, makes the health of humans and other animals living in the particular area much better.

Exercise Promotes Physical Fitness

Gardening is an art that takes hard work and effort. However, after said hard work, the pay-off is amazing. Not only do you get beautiful plants making the environment better, but you also get a better and more fit physical health due to the strenuous exercise that gardening puts you through. This is very commonly observed in today’s world.

People often choose some hobby like gardening and planting flowers instead of going to the gym and running around reducing weight because of the fact that there is already a lot of physical effort being put in, during watering and digging bases as well as planting seeds and the overall cultivation of the garden area.

This is another very major benefit of gardening because it causes the person to exercise more and put into physical work in order to create and maintain a wonderful garden. Incredibly enough, physicians also agree that the amount of physical work gardening requires is absolutely enough to maintain a healthy metabolism throughout the day.

Stress and Anxiety Relief

The most important health benefit of interacting with plants is the psychological effect on mental health. Different plant varieties have different kinds of effects on the mind of a person and all of these effects are incredibly positive. If a person is under great work or life stress, they can simply install plants in their households and reduce the level of stress immensely because of their calming and soothing presence.

Moreover, the compounds and elements found in various plants along with their smell can also cause relaxation and reduce intense nervous activity making plants the best remedy against mental stress, anxiety, depression, and uneasiness. Drinking a tea of certain plant leaves also causes sleep deprivation issues to go away in people.

Increases Brain Function

There are some plants that lower stress levels as well as increase the brain function and activity of the mind in a person. How this works is that usually, these plants contain essential oils and extracts that are consumed in some form which directly affects the brain and causes the brain to function rapidly.

The intense fragrance of certain plants can also cause people to increase their mental activity and there are many pills available in the market with the label of brain function boosters that have plant extracts in them which can increase the productivity of the human mind. Even the visual attractiveness and the aesthetic beauty of these plants due to their vivid and beautiful colors can trigger certain parts of the brain to work more efficiently.

Immunity Boost

In many households, the houses are located in areas that are polluted heavily in terms of air quality and environment due to the overuse of vehicles and the burning of fuel and wastes. In such areas, the level of toxins in the air is so much that the immune system of the people residing there is at extremely high risk. Due to this reason, they are more susceptible to diseases and are at a higher risk of mortality.

By cultivating gardens and interacting with plant life, the level of these toxins can be reduced, and by doing so, the air quality can be improved. Improved air quality essentially means that the people would breathe in a better environment. Due to which their metabolism and immunity will increase and they will be more likely to counter diseases that could be very harmful to people living in bad environmental conditions.

Improves Mood

The visual beauty along with the perfect scent of plants can also improve the mood of a person drastically. You might notice that if a person is angry or depressed, they’ll be more likely to feel bummed out in a barren

and boring environment. However, in a garden area surrounded by flowers and plants full of colors and wonderful fragrances, the person would feel much better and would be much happier. Due to this reason, interacting with plants and the field of gardening can have an incredibly positive effect on the mood of a person.

These were some of the significant benefits of cultivating plants in your household and interacting with plants in general. If you also have a very stressful life as many others do in today’s workaholic environment, then you should also get into the field of gardening for a mind calming and stress-reducing feeling.

With a wide variety of therapeutic plants available in the market, if you focus on our advice, you’ll be able to get the best plants for your households and get the best mentally satisfactory results from nature’s best gift to humanity.

For more information or consultation for your mental health or psychiatry, schedule your Mindful Care appointment today!