Health Benefits of Indoor Gardening

Health Benefits of Indoor Gardening
By Diane M Gove

Indoor plants are good for you, both physically and emotionally. Sometimes indoor gardening is your only option. Whether it's wintertime or you live in a place where you have no outside plot, only having indoor space is just fine for you to get your hands dirty and happy. It will also be beneficial to your health.

If you have never gardened before explore the options for a way that appeals to you. There are herb gardens, terrariums, water gardens, container plants, and other creative ideas available.

There are many reasons indoor gardening can benefit you. Digging in the soil can really boost your serotonin levels. There is a strain of bacterium in soil that triggers it's release. The serotonin increases your mood and decreases your stress and anxiety. Therefore, there IS true pleasure in your puttering around the garden.

Indoor plants can greatly improve the air quality by filtering out VOC's (volatile organic compounds) which are chemicals that emit scents and odors that can be dangerous to us and the environment. They are not severely toxic, but can have long-term health effects. Most man-made VOC's come from solvents, raw gasoline, and car exhaust.

Asthma, bronchitis, and COPD can be aggravated by these VOC's. Plants will not only improve the air quality by giving off oxygen and filtering air toxins, they can lower your blood pressure, and decrease your stress. That, in turn, increases the body's ability to handle these chronic diseases easier.

Some indoor plants that can help immensely by filtering these VOC's are:

*Aloe Vera - easy to grow and the gel inside can also be used to aid in the healing of cuts and burns. This nice, sunny, window-sill plant helps clear up paint and other chemical fumes.

*Spider Plant - easy to grow and hard to kill. Safe around children and pets. This is a great plant that helps with many of the VOC's including carbon monoxide, and printing chemicals.

*Golden Pothos (Devil's Ivy) - gorgeous vine that will grow quickly and doesn't need much light. Good garage plant to help with exhaust.

*Gerber Daisy - this beautiful flowering plant likes lots of light. It does well to clear the chemicals from dry-cleaning. It would certainly brighten up a laundry room nicely.

*Snake Plant - one of the best plants for the formaldehyde problem that toilet paper, personal products, and cleaning products carry. This plant would love to make an amazing statement in your steamy bathroom. It wouldn't even mind low light conditions.

Other plants that will help in filtering the VOC's are:

Chrysanthemums - like bright light,

Red-eyed dracena - grows tall, easy to grow

Weeping Fig(aka ficus) - livingroom plant to help clear carpet fumes

Azalea(flowering shrub) - likes cooler temperatures. A wonderfully pretty basement plant if there's lots of light

Also the English Ivy, Bamboo(reed) palm, and the Peace Lily.

Most people are happier when they have something to tend and nurture. It not only gives your life a sense of purpose and meaning, it helps you feel more empathetic and compassionate.

Someone who is disabled, housebound, or in a wheelchair, can still be able to garden. It can give you emotional enjoyment and physical therapy.

If an herb garden is the way for you, know that these fresh kitchen growths are much healthier for you. Foods grown without pesticides and chemicals are becoming a part of a healthier lifestyle.

Indoor gardening gives you a healthier environment in which to live. It also can be your quiet personal time well-spent with a feeling of satisfaction in the growth you see.

Diane Gove is searching and sharing many ways to improve your state of mind. She would like you to come find your happy spot at http://www.thehappyaverage.com. There are many simple ways to help yourself become a happier person.

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