Do Plants Make You Happier? Studies say, yes. This of course is amplified if you are a person who enjoys nature overall and maybe like the look of plants in a room and the vibrance that they can add. An article in The Washington Post written by Lala Tanmoy Das in 2022 says that “plants can quickly improve your mood…Studies have found that less than 20 minutes is enough to make us feel more at peace.” It is even said that the same effects can work in shorter time increments like 15, 10, and even 5 minutes. Think about what effects it could have in your room or classroom, places where much of your time is spent everyday. These studies also show that the optimum number of plants for a person to have in their room is 5 or more, the sky’s the limit.

On the other hand, having plants and taking care of them, even just low maintenance watering and ensuring that they are getting enough sun, can be a way to take care of yourself. Like when you have a pet, perhaps a cat or dog, and taking care of that thing every day reminds you to take care of yourself. The reason why having a plant (or many) can be more beneficial to a cat or dog is time. If you are a person who is forgetful or cannot keep up with a perfect schedule, and having extra time to play with a pet, a plant is the better option. Plants do not have to be watered and watched on the daily, and on top of that, if you get a low maintenance plant they can be pretty hard to kill. All in all, a plant could be the perfect thing to bring in a little life and nature into your home or bedroom, all while being very aesthetically pleasing to see.

After exploring all of these amazing benefits to having plants around your home, why not take it a step further? Maybe LR should be incorporating more plants around the building and in the classrooms. You may have seen that Ms. Kelly carts around one of her school plants on the cart she takes for her classes. Or you may have visited Ms. Penni and Ms. Gariepy’s room with windows filled to the brim with a wide variety of plant friends. Maybe if we could spread the green thumb fever across more of the building, the mood of the staff and students could improve while they are here. After all, we are spending 7 hours a day 185 days a year in this building.