Artwork by Yvette Choi
This is Bob.
[insert response: amazing name!]
As a newly named succulent, he’s happy that you think his name is quote “amazing”. In fact, he’s so excited that he’s ready to give you a two truths and a lie introduction to himself:
1. He’s an extravert.
2. He has potential to reduce your stress levels by suppressing autonomic nervous system activity.
3. His color has been shown to evoke calmness and stimulate the parasympathetic nervous system.
(drumroll)
The lie is number 1! But really, what we want to talk about is 2 and 3.
PLANTS AND STRESS
Maybe it isn’t a niche piece of knowledge that plants and nature are good for us. But why? What is the mechanism behind it? Also, how accessible is this benefit?
1. THE MECHANISM: We might have already heard of the sympathetic nervous system, which is the system that regulates your flight or fight responses. High activity of this system normally indicates stress and causes physiological effects such as vasoconstriction. A study from 2015 shows that interaction with indoor plants caused a decrease in sympathetic activity, compared to an increase in activity after a computer task. This shows that plants can soothe us because it suppresses activity of the autonomic sympathetic nervous system.
2. ACCESSIBILITY: We’re often afraid that we don’t have enough time to run out and find an area with ‘enough’ plants, which makes it pertinent to define ‘enough’. The good news is that indoor plants are sufficient for this effect to happen, and studies even show that passive interaction, which often simplifies to being in the presence of, is also deemed enough. I, for one, keep Bob on my shelf, and see watering him as a mindfulness activity that helps me unwind.
THE GREEN POWER
We’ve heard of the power of threes in writing, but have we heard of the power of green(s) in health?
1. IMPLICATIONS OF GREEN: Green has been shown to stimulate the parasympathetic nervous system that allows your heartrate and blood pressure to lower and reduce symptoms of anxiety and depression. Also, a review specifically based on children and adolescents also suggest that being in green spaces enhance our cognitive abilities, creativity, and attention span (maybe I owe Bob some credit for my test scores)!
2. ACCESSING GREEN THERAPY: As mentioned in before, every small action brings about an effect. Depending on your schedule, you might want to try:
a. Adopting your own Bob (or maybe two or three),
b. Giving yourself 5 minutes between each homework task to look out the window,
c. Going out for a walk,
d. Birdwatching or gardening.
To end: be mindful in the things you do and look out for moments where you can momentarily stop and let your parasympathetic nervous system start gulping in some green energy.
[prompt: look out the window now]
Comments