Pot plants relieve work stress

BY KATE NEWTON

You know that shrivelled, browning thing in the pot on a corner of your desk? The thing that used to be a plant? Get up and give it a drink of water  because if you look after it, it will return the favour, Margaret Burchett says.

"The profound psychological effect that live greenery has on people means better health and wellbeing."

A chief investigator of potted-plant research at the University of Technology Sydney, Professor Burchett has been studying the effects of plants on indoor environments for more than 40 years.

It's now well-established that pot plants improve indoor air quality  vital in Western cities where many of us spend most of our time inside.

Indoor air is always more polluted than outdoor air, because of the volatile gases released by carpets, furnishings and equipment like photocopiers, as well as air pollutants that make their way inside from the street, she says.

"Eighty per cent of [Westerners] live in urban areas and spend an amazing 90 per cent of our time indoors. Plants can take up those volatiles  and everyone in the whole world now knows that plants take up carbon dioxide."

Clearer air means clearer thinking  and it can also improve the health of office workers.

"It's been shown to reduce symptoms of dry eye and dry mouth and coughing and wheezing that can lead to illness."

What is less well-known is the effect of plants on people's mental wellbeing  but Professor Burchett now has some answers. In an Australian study published just last month, she and a group of researchers found that office plants reduced a group of workers' "negative mood states" by 30 to 60 per cent over a three-month period leading up to Christmas.

"We found that plants had a very strong wellbeing effect. It was a reduction of a whole lot of negative feelings: anxiety, anger, depression, confusion, fatigue and stress."

The control group, on the other hand, who did not have plants in their offices, reported increases in those same feelings of 20 to 40 per cent. A Washington State University study got similar results in 2008, but Professor Burchett's research was the first to test the effect using internationally recognised psychological testing methods.

The results are clear, but the reason plants make us feel better are not  although Professor Burchett and other researchers have some theories.

"It relieves what they call 'concentration fatigue'. Unconscious appreciation of live greenery gives you a feeling of calm  a slight 'awayness' and being part of a bigger whole."

The cleaner air that plants produce no doubt helps mental wellbeing too  if you're thinking more clearly, feelings of frustration and fatigue are going to be less likely.

Professor Burchett's research has been slowly catching on in her home country, she says. "Here in Australia, over the last decade there's an increasing awareness of the value of plants in offices."

From what she has seen and heard, the greening of offices in New Zealand has been slower, although recognition of the role of indoor plants is growing. The New Zealand Green Building Council now awards up to two points towards green star ratings for interior plant installations.

It may be that even urban Kiwis live much closer to nature on a daily basis, Professor Burchett says. "New Zealand hasn't got cities even as big as Australia has. Possibly, you don't feel in such a critical situation."

As the population grows, though, more people might turn to indoor plants for their daily green fix. "As more and more of your population is living in urban areas, then the quality of the air becomes important."

CLEAR YOUR AIR

* Your pot plant doesn't need to be big: a 20 centimetre pot is sufficient.

* Use good quality potting mix: the microorganisms in the soil feed on the pollutants in the air.

* Professor Burchett says it doesn't seem to matter what type of plant you have  so choose one that's easy to look after!

* Water your plant: a dead one won't absorb pollutants  and it doesn't look as nice.

- © Fairfax NZ News