The Washington Post - USA (2022-06-09)

9

DC

the

washington

post

.

thursday,

june

9

,

2022

BY LALA TANMOY DAS

W

hen Hannan Braun felt stressed at work, he would treat himself to a houseplant. “At one point,

I think I had well over a hundred plants,” said Braun, who lived in a studio apartment and was

working on the front lines of the pandemic in Boston, “but it never looked cluttered or felt like

I had too many.” For Braun, indoor plants have been a lifeline for dealing with the stress of

medical training during the pandemic. Surrounding himself with lush greenery always

calmed him down, he said, and helped him feel rejuvenated.

“Different properties of plants, such as how they look, smell and feel, impact us in so many ways,” said

Mengmeng Gu, an associate professor of horticultural sciences at Texas A&M University. “They can feel good

to the touch, make a space more fragrant and please our eyes.”

But how and why do plants have such positive effects on us? Here’s a look at research over the past few

decades that has shown how houseplants affect our psychological and physical health.

CONTINUED ON NEXT PAGE

What science says about the

positive effects of indoor plants

Wellness

ANNE BENTLEY/ILLUSTRATION FOR THE WASHINGTON POST