The Top 5 Benefits of Having House Plants in Your Home

What can improve the look of your home and boost your mood all at the same time? The answer: house plants.

If you're looking for home improvement tips, keeping house plants should be at the top of your list. Not only is it one of the more affordable ways to spruce up your space, but it also provides a number of scientifically-backed benefits to a person's overall health and well-being. 

While there are dozens of benefits of house plants, we've compiled the top 5. Take a look.

1. They boost your mood

There's a reason people traditionally send flowers when you're sick or in need of cheering up–and helping boost your mood is one of them. The mental benefits of plants have been studied extensively; this study, for example, found that interacting with plants (even just by smelling them) helped reduce stress. Even a view of nature, such as a lawn, has been shown to improve emotional health.

If your home has a small yard (or no yard), you can still enjoy the mental benefits of foliage with a few small indoor plants. 

Tip: Keep lavender plants in bedrooms. Lavender plants are associated with calmness, and their fragrance and oil are often used in essential oils to help with sleep and de-stressing.

2. They're good for your health 

Plants also have benefits to your physical health. While many herbs are used medicinally, common house plants are great to have around for health as well. For example, aloe vera plants have been used for centuries to help soothe irritated skin and are a common ingredient in many skincare products. 

One study also found that plants were associated with faster recovery rates in patients after surgery. Patients who had plants in their hospital rooms requested less pain medication, had lower heart rates and blood pressure, and were discharged sooner than patients without plants. 

Tip: Aloe vera is a great plant for newbies to the plant world who want to start with easy plants to grow. It's a low-light house plant that does best with indirect sunlight. 

3. They help you focus

If you find it difficult to concentrate while working from home, consider placing a few small indoor plants around your home office space. One study from Exeter University found indoor plants helped improve concentration and productivity by up to 47% in workers.

House plants can also do double duty in the classroom by teaching kids about plants and helping them concentrate.

Tip: Choose common house plants that are low maintenance to help your kids learn about plants. Low-light house plants like spider plants or pothos are easy plants to grow and make a great choice for beginners.

4. They help you breathe easier

Keeping plants is an all-natural home improvement tip that can improve your overall indoor air quality. You probably learned all about how plants convert carbon dioxide into oxygen for us to breathe via photosynthesis while in grade school. But plants can also bring the benefits of cleaner air into your home as well.

English ivy, for example, has been shown to reduce mold from the air, and a study from NASA found the peace lily to be a champ at cleaning indoor air.

Tip: If you suffer from allergies or asthma, you can still reap the benefits of cleaner air from common house plants like bamboo palm or swedish ivy, which are both low-pollen, easy plants to grow and care for. 

5. They're an easy house project for anyone

Many home improvement tips can be intimidating or require expensive tools or equipment–but not house plants. There are plants to fit every budget and skill level. 

If you're just venturing into the world of house plants, start with easy plants to care for, like succulents, cacti, or a snake plant. These plants are some of the most forgiving when it comes to things like watering and sunlight requirements. 

Tip: Many public libraries or community centers offer free classes on gardening or getting started with houseplants. There are also a number of great online resources that can help you learn about caring for your plants. 

More smart home improvement tips 

While a few small house plants can add a little life (literally) to your home, there are other great home improvement tips you can make. Investing in a smart home is one of them.

A customized Vivint system makes your home and life in general more comfortable, convenient, and secure. Take a look at a few benefits of smart home technology: 

• Automate tasks around the house. A Vivint system automates many tasks around your house. For example, your thermostat will automatically adjust to your preferences, or you can set the lights in your home to turn off or on at certain times. 
• Hands-free control. With Amazon Echo or Google Home integrated into your smart home, many tasks can be performed via voice control. For example, you can say "Hey Alexa, turn the temperature down 2 degrees." You can even set reminders or make lists, like, "Hey Alexa, remind me to water my house plants at 5:00." 
• Control your home remotely. With the Vivint app, you can control your home wherever you are, whether you want to lock or unlock your doors, disarm your security system, or check your camera feeds. 
• Keep an eye on your home, inside and out. With both indoor and outdoor security cameras, you can keep an eye on the inside and outside of your home. So you can check on kids, pets, and even your plants.

Start your smart home with Vivint

For an easy way to improve your home–and your mood–adding plants to your home is a simple way to do it. The benefits of plants range from better health to better concentration to reduced stress. Best of all, it's easy to get started.

To make additional improvements to your home (and even help you care for your plants), a Vivint is the way to go. Contact our Smart Home Pros today at 800.646.1469 for a free quote.