Partner Post: How Houseplants Make us Healthier and Happier

Fight winter blues with a bit of green! Beautiful, easy-care houseplants are the perfect pick-me-ups for our bodies and our minds - according to science.  In fact, several studies point to how plants help prevent the winter doldrums, pick up our moods and keep us feeling healthy all year long.

• Houseplants can help keep us from feeling down during the drab, dark winter days. Dutch researchers, for example, found people were less stressed in plant-filled rooms. Their research also revealed people felt happier around houseplants.
• Another study from the Agricultural University of Norway found similar results: workers felt better physically in cubicles with plants. Among the benefits were less fatigue, fewer headaches, and less coughing.
• Houseplants are also well known for their ability to purify the air. They remove irritants and harmful substances such as mold spores and VOCs. Try bringing plants such as dracaena, Chinese evergreen, or pothos indoors to keep you feeling your best.
• Houseplants improve air quality not only by taking in carbon dioxide and releasing oxygen — they also reduce levels of dust, keep temperatures down, lower levels of certain pollutants and release moisture, humidifying the air around them. 
• People get more done with greenery around. Take the study done at the University of Exeter, where researchers found that adding plants to an office space could increase productivity by as much as 15 percent. 

Adding colorful, mood-boosting houseplants like colorful aglaonema, croton, or nerve plant makes indoor spaces more cheerful and healthier overall. Give spaces a touch of the tropics when it’s cold, gray, and not-so-fun outside to brighten things up.