Whether you love houseplants fill your home with them or your considering adding some to your house, you should know the ways they benefit our lives. Plants lead to healthier lives in all kinds of ways. Here are five.

1. They Help You Breathe

Plants are suppliers of oxygen, and as we all know people need oxygen to breathe. Plants — in a truly mutually beneficial relationship — take in carbon dioxide and breathe out oxygen. That’s great for you and your houseplants. It’s also why large stands of forest, for example, help the environment overall, as carbon dioxide is found in things like car exhaust.

2. They Add Moisture To The Air

Ten percent of the moisture in the air is put there by plants. They need water to live. Plants draw water from the source (your watering can or rain), take what they need, and transpire it outward. If you have dry skin in the winter or live in a dry climate, plants are your friends. Having plants like ferns, which need a lot of water, will increase the overall humidity level in your home without it feeling humid.

3. They Clean The Air Of Chemicals

Even if you’re environmentally conscious and try not to have harmful chemicals around the house, it’s very difficult to be entirely chemical-free. Chemicals are found in the paint on your walls, the cosmetics on your face, and the foods in the supermarket.

A number of plants can help cleanse the air of harmful chemicals. The succulent aloe vera, for example, purifies the air of formaldehyde and benzene, which can be found in paint or cleaning supplies. The vibrantly colored Gerbera daisy can remove trichloroethylene, which is a byproduct of dry cleaning.

4. They Lower Your Stress

Plants not only have an influence on the air that surrounds you, they have an effect on you. One study showed that the presence of plants lowered stress, blood pressure and feelings of pain in hospital settings. Another found a patient’s time to recovery was much less if they tended plants. What works in a hospital will work for you at home or work. We could all use some stress relief.

5. They Boost Your Memory and Productivity

Amazingly, the presence of plants has been found to boost your memory retention by as much as 20 percent. The increase in memory is one of several factors that lead to increased productivity. Recall and accuracy are improved by the presence of ornamental houseplants in an office, for example. Every plant you buy is, therefore, an investment in your overall performance at work and at home.

Plants provide excellent benefits in improving the atmosphere around you, your health and your overall performance. They’re one of the best things you can do to improve your life at work and at home.