Can Flowers really impact your Mental Health & Well Being?
Can having something as simple as flowers or plants in your home impact your mental health? The simple answer is yes!
For years people have benefited immensely from having flowers or greenery in their spaces. More than just a mere decoration, flowers are known to boost your mood, improve air quality and relieve feelings of stress and anxiety. Whether it be in the bedroom, kitchen or office space, being surrounded by nature is a health aid in itself.
More than ever, levels of stress and anxiety are at an all time high. Being stuck indoors all day every day is bound to take its toll and have an effect on our mental health.
Flowers Can Help
Bloom & Wild conducted a study that has shown that people are reducing their stress and anxiety with arranging and keeping flowers around the home. Flower arranging can help us find mindfulness, challenge our mind, enhance focus and connect us to nature. Whether you are a trained florist, aspiring florist or even a hobbyist, the act of combining beautiful blooms in uplifting colours, aromas and textures before they hit the vase has many benefits for your own mental wellbeing. It can make you feel less stressed out as it lowers blood pressure and heart rate.
According to a study in Complementary Therapies in Medicine, viewing roses induce significant physiological and psychological relaxation for women (link). The American Society of Horticulture Science performed a study and confirmed that the introducing plants and flowers into hospital dorms during the recovery period had a positive influence linking directly to health outcomes. Furthermore, patients exposed to plants experienced lower ratings of pain, anxiety, fatigue, enhanced physiological responses and more positive feelings (link).
Here are a few tips on how you can achieve a mindful state and some of the subsequent benefits we have found when arranging flowers.
Make time for you
This may seem obvious, but it is important to take a step back and make time for yourself. So many of us rush through the day switching from task to task, activity to activity, sorting out family, chores and work commitments. Be purposeful about your time, set a date every week. If you are new to the hobby, think of flower arranging as experimental. Order your flowers in store or online, do your research, learn about the varieties and make this all part of the process.
You can find our first demonstration tutorial for inspiration on what you can create. Click here.
Create your own space
Set up a mindful space in your home, studio or workplace to start flower arranging. Turn on your favourite music playlist, lay out the flowers.
Consider scent & colours
Scent and colour are topics that we will expand on further in the week. Colour is a powerful communication tool, it can influence mood, emotion and action signal. Blue is calming and peaceful, green is grounding and connected to nature, whilst purple is full of energy and life. Similarly, fragrance can have a similar connection to our wellbeing, the smells of a flower arrangement can induce relaxation and calmness.
- Geraniums - improve air quality
- Lavender - improve sleep, reduce blood pressure and slows heart rate
- Roses - relieve headache, sharpen memory
- Lily of the valley - soothes nerves, helps dizziness
- Tulip - alleviate tension and exhaustion
- Orchids - calming
Connect with friends
Meet up with your friends in your garden or virtually over Zoom to craft together. From creating seasonal wreaths, flower crowns to seasonal bouquets, get creative and just have fun!
Sometimes it is the smallest things in life that make us the happiest. Find a flower that you love, incorporate it into your life and watch yourself blossom!