Why "Plants Make People Happy"?
“Plants make people happy” is a phrase that has been very popular worldwide during COVID-19 pandemic quarantine and if we look at it from a broader perspective you can see how real this is. Different cultures around the world have a sense of inherent value for nature. An example of this is a Japanese practice called Shinrin-yoku / forest bath. This practice consists of walking through the forest in a meditative way, feeling what is observed, breathing deeply, feeling the breeze and the sounds of the forest. The Scandinavians also have a philosophy called Friluftsliv which, in short, is to establish a spiritual connection with the landscape. This natural human tendency has generated a growing interest in the scientific community in search of the link between exposure to nature, specifically the greenness of vegetation, and the effects on human mental health.
Numerous mechanisms involving the positive effects of nature on humans have already been suggested. One of the first and most mentioned hypotheses is biophilia, established by Biologist E.O Wilson of Harvard University. This hypothesis suggests that because humans evolved in forests and environments with abundant greenery, this has made us feel a high affinity for nature, plants and living beings. On the other hand, the scientist Roger Ulrich, built the psychoevolutionary theory that establishes that direct exposure to nature has a cognitive restorative effect and generates a reduction in stress levels.
It has been proved that there is a direct relationship between the levels of greenness in cities and homicides and due to high levels of stress and crime levels, many countries around the world are putting forward “greening” efforts which may promote nature's calming effects and reduce the stressful stimuli that come with city life.
If plants bring greenness to our homes, and it has been proved that greenness reduces stress levels and has a cognitive restorative effect in our minds, imagine how beneficial it can be for your mental health to have a green space in your home.
