A small plant on a desk means less stress
The researchers simply placed a plant on the desk of 63 office workers, and measured the levels of psychological and physiological stress before and after. Each employee can choose “his” favorite plant and have to take care of it. Participants were also free, during the study, to take breaks of 3 minutes, sitting at their desks when they felt tired. The study was carried out in 2 phases:
- a plant-free control period,
- and an intervention period with the approval of a small plant placed on the desk.
The team measured psychological stress using the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI). In addition, participants had to take their own pulse throughout the study, which provided a measure of physiological stress. Experience shows that:
- STAI scores decrease significantly after the intervention period;
- the pulse also decreases significantly after a rest of 3 minutes and during the intervention period.
Thus, the study demonstrates, in a real workplace, that a simple little plant can reduce the psychological and physiological stress of office workers.
” Few people realize the benefits of stress recovery from plants in the workplace. We provide scientific evidence of this restorative effect “.
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