Plants

Chiang and colleagues evaluated the implications of adding green plants along the sides of roads.  They share that “if driver reaction time (RT) can be reduced, drivers would have more time to assess the situation and take appropriate action to avoid the accident. . . . A driving simulator was employed to simulate highways with five road greening doses. During the simulation, an emergency incident was designed and video-displayed, and driver RT in the context of that situation was recorded. . . .

Researchers have determined that looking at plants and guided meditation have similar effects on our mental state. Archary and Thatcher studied recovery from mental fatigue (which degraded mood) and found that “distress significantly decreased for participants in the indoor plant break condition while distress significantly decreased . . . in the guided meditation break condition. Indoor plants and guided meditation had a small, but significant positive impact on [mood] restoration. . . . Indoor plants are a cost-effective green ergonomics intervention in offices.

Soininen and colleagues thoroughly investigated the repercussions of having green walls in Finnish offices.  They found that “air-circulating green walls may induce beneficial changes in a human microbiome. . . . The green walls (size 2 m × 1 m × 0.3 m) used in this study . . . circulate indoor air. They first absorb the indoor air through the plant roots and soilless substrate, then automated fans circulate the air back to the room.