An international study confirms that plants improve psychological well-being during confinement

An international study coordinated by the Urban Nature and Biosystem Engineering Research Group (NATURIB) of the Higher Technical School of Agronomic Engineering of the University of Seville indicates that having plants at home positively influenced the psychological well-being of citizens during confinements applied due to the pandemic. In addition, 40% of study participants said that confinement had motivated him to buy more plants for home.

Researchers from Greece, Brazil and Italy participated in the study, along with representatives from the University of Seville. As reported by the Andalusian university, this research, published in the scientific journal Urban Forestry and Urban Greening , "has evaluated the role played by the existing vegetation in the houses during the first period of confinement due to COVID-19".

Up to 74% of the 4,200 respondents in 46 countries during the study indicated that the presence of plants in homes positively influenced their emotional well-being during confinement . Furthermore, more than half of them (55.8%) stated that they "would have preferred to have more plants in their home" during that period of time when they were indoors. From the university explained that "the frequency with which participants in the study and xperimentaron negative emotions was higher in those who reported not having plants inside their homes." "Likewise, those who lived in small houses or with little natural light and those who did not visit green spaces frequently before confinement also experienced more negative emotions."

Likewise, 52% of the participants stated that they spent more time caring for the plants at home during the confinement period and almost two-thirds (62.5%) expressed their desire to do so once normality was restored. In this way, 40% of the participants indicated that their motivation for having plants inside their homes had changed in favor of increasing their number.