Horticulture and interior plants in health care facilities! – cont’d

by Mary Jane Gilhooley

Health Facilities Management, February 2002

Article reference: Green Plants for Green Buildings

Interior plants’ effects

Many studies have shown that houseplants can have pronounced psychological and physical effects on individuals in controlled settings. In one study, Dr. Roger Ulrich of Texas A&M University showed that college students under pressure while taking an exam exhibited less fear and anger and more positive feelings when interior plants were in full view.

In another study involving hospital patients, Dr. Ulrich showed that those patients whose rooms overlooked vegetation recovered faster after gallbladder surgery and required less pain medication than patients who did not have a view of nature. Preliminary results from similar studies with cardiac patients in intensive care units are consistent with these findings.

The tendency to heal faster in the presence of flowering houseplants may be attributed to the fact that houseplants have been shown to lower stress levels. In other studies, Dr. Ulrich and R. F. Simons showed that views of plant life can actually lower blood pressure and reduce muscle tension, producing recovery from stress within four to six minutes.

Recent studies conducted by Dr. Virginia Lohr of Washington State University reinforce Dr. Ulrich’s findings relating to indoor plants and stress reduction. In Dr. Lohr’s study, interior plants were used in a computer laboratory with 27 computer workstations. A computer program to test productivity and induce stress was specifically designed for these experiments, incorporating one hundred symbols and time-measured readings of participants’ reactions. The symbols were presented in the same randomized sequence to each subject. Plants present and plants not present were the only variables that participants experienced.

Blood pressure readings recorded while using the program confirmed that the program was effective in inducing stress. Emotional states and pulses were also measured during the experiment. At the conclusion of the experiment, measurements of blood pressures, pulses and emotional states indicated that participants who worked in the presence of plants were less stressed than those who did not. To heal, patients need to relax and de-stress. As these studies show, interior plants can provide patients with the calming environment necessary for optimal healing. Busy health care employees are likely to appreciate the stress-reducing qualities of indoor plants as well.

Case in point: University Hospitals of Cleveland

For many years now, restorative gardens have been known for offering a relaxing environment in which people who are sick, injured and under stress can recover and regain confidence in themselves. An example of the relaxing effects such garden areas have can be found at University Hospitals of Cleveland.

In 1990, University Hospitals of Cleveland created an interior 20,000 square-foot palm atrium in an area that had previously contained an exterior courtyard, with four major medical centers attached and overlooking it. Within the award-winning atrium, eleven large in-ground beds contain seventy palm varieties, with some soaring to 30 feet in height. 1,500 understory and ground cover plantings also adorn the atrium, which was built to serve as a connection between the four major medical centers.

Plantscaping, Inc. of Cleveland, Ohio has been maintaining and growing the palm atrium since 1994, and Plantscaping President Nancy Silverman is able to visit the atrium often. “I have had the opportunity to speak to many employees and health care patients about the atrium over the years,” says Silverman. “The atrium, filled with lush, healthy greenery, serves as a tremendous respite from the sterile, often intimidating hospital environment.” According to Silverman, the atrium is beneficial for both patients and employees. “When you see small children from Rainbow Babies and Children’s Hospital, as well as patients of all ages being wheeled through the atrium, you realize what a healing power indoor house plants have,” says Silverman. “Watching nurses, doctors and technicians taking a welcome break from their difficult daily routines makes you aware of the relief and benefits plants can provide to workers as well.”