For most people who’ve been stuck in a hospital on the slow and boring road to recovery, the thing they say they appreciate most is the TV. Unless, of course, their room has a potted plant.
A recent study using medical and psychological measurements showed that patients with live plants in their hospital rooms tended towards less stress and therefore recovered more quickly than those without. Nurses observed that people who had plants began to water and prune them and move them around for optimum light – in other words, they had a desire to nurture, thereby speeding up their own healing.
Could it be that modern medicine needs to make room for a little horticulture? The simple science is that plants also clean the air and regulate humidity, but dare I inject a little woo-woo into the conversation, plants are thought to contain chi, or life force energy. Draw your own conclusions, but if I were ever in a hospital, I certainly know what I’d prefer: make my room a jungle!
Image: timtom.ch