Plants can greatly increase the health of an individual and their environment by cleansing the air and producing more oxygen which increases brain activity and blood flow. They serve as a natural humidifier and sound absorber, meaning that keeping a few plants in the bedroom can offer a quieter, more comfortable sleep. Plants also produce the same affect as a small pet would; the need to feel needed. Even if it's just watering the plant a few times a week, taking care of another living thing brings purpose into a persons life and gives them a sense of value and confidence in their ability to nurture and care for others.
Increasing the amount of plants in an office building helps employees on a psychological level. Putting a human into an environment with no psychological stimuli is one of the most dangerous things for the psyche. The addition of plants allows the employees to become psychologically engaged in something other than their work which increases overall concentration and productivity. Photographs, scents, and variations in light offer the same affect in an office environment. Not only do plants engage the mind, but actually looking at the plant can soothe the brain. Because the color green is located at the center of the color wheel, the eye does not need to adjust whatsoever. This allows the eyes to rest from looking at a screen for hours or a white sheet of paper. Green also represents calmness, balance, and restoration; three things that many Americans lack in their lives today.
Just the addition of a few plants here and there around the house can improve the health and wellbeing of you as well as others. Maybe if we all had a few more plants around, we would be a little happier.
I found this blog really interesting and really cool. What I found most intriguing is that since the color green is located at the center of the color wheel, the eye doesn't need to adjust to it. This makes it a relaxing color for the eyes to look at. Because I thought this was interesting, I decided to do more research into color psychology.
ReplyDeleteColor psychology is defined as "the study of color as a determinant of human behavior." Basically what this means is the study of color and its effects on the human mind. For example, reds and oranges are known to be warmer colors while blues and purples are known to be cooler colors. Color psychology goes deeper into this, analyzing how these colors affect not only moods and emotions, but physical behaviors too.
The study of color psychology and its effects has been going on for years. The ancient Egyptians and Chinese practiced chromotherapy, or using colors as healing methods. For example, red was used to stimulate the body and mind and to increase circulation. Orange, another warm color, was also used to increase energy levels, but also to heal the lungs. Yellow, also seen as a warm color, was used to stimulate the nerves and purify the body. Blue, a cool color, was used to treat illnesses and soothe pain while indigo was used to alleviate skin conditions. By these observations, it can be seen that the warmer colors were used to stimulate the body while the cooler colors soothed pain and illnesses.
Modern studies involving the use of warm and cool colors have also been conduced. One study involved placebos, or pills that have no physical medical effects, but are given to test the psychological effects on patients. Warm and cool colored placebos were given to patients with the same ailments, and the warm colored pills were reported to have been more effective. Other physical effects of color have also been studied. It was found that by putting blue streetlights on a road, crime was reduced in that area. This is because blue and other cool colors are seen as calming. Another experiment proved that by exposing students to the color red before exams, they did worse than children who hadn't been exposed to the color. This could be due to the fact that red has been proven to stimulate the body and also increase feelings of anger or hostility. Also because of this effect of color psychology, people exposed to the color red react with increased speed and force, something that may be useful with athletics.
So relating back to Liv's blog, the color green has been used to symbolize nature, tranquility, good luck and health. It also has been linked to feelings of jealousy. Experiments involving the effects of the color green have found that it increases reading ability. Students have said that by placing a green, transparent sheet over reading material, they can read faster and have better comprehension of the text. Green is also said to relieve stress and have a calming effect on people. (Maybe this is why a green room is a place where performers go to relax when they aren't performing). Another interesting side note involving the color green is that because green can also represent fertility, it was the preferred choice for wedding gowns in the 1400's. Because of all these psychological effects of the color green, it is evident that green plants can help calm any space and help workers in rooms with plants work more efficiently.
http://psychology.about.com/od/sensationandperception/a/colorpsych.htm
http://psychology.about.com/od/sensationandperception/a/color_green.htm
I was initially drawn to this blog because of the title "Happy plant". You always tend to see the same titles on here so I was interested to read it and of course because Liv wrote it. I was happily surprised to be aware of the facts presented in this article.I find it interesting that just merely looking at a plant will help you feel better and balance you out.
ReplyDeleteI would love if an experiment could be done to see just how powerful plants are. You could have one group in a room doing work for a week without plants and another group in a different room doing work with plants surrounding then and see any changes in their moods or even their health! I think that would be pretty cool to try out.
I love the way your mind works Liv
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