Infographic: Plants can reduce hospital stays, encourage overall health

The third in a series of infographics from the National Initiative for Consumer Horticulture visualizes the wellness benefits of plants.


Washington, D.C. – March 2018 – Want to shorten the stay in the hospital and heal faster? Research shows plants can help people do that.

According to the third of four #PlantsDoThat Inside infographics produced by the National Initiative for Consumer Horticulture (NICH), plants are good for our health.

“Patients spend less time in recovery and go home faster when there are plants in the room,” says Dr. Charles Hall, Ellison Chair, Texas A&M. The infographic series was developed by NICH from a scientific literature review evidence base developed by Dr. Hall and his students.

 


 
The #PlantsDoThat Inside Where We Heal infographic shows that plants in rooms help people heal faster.  That’s true whether or not there are plants present in the room, viewed through the window, or on the wall in a picture. Other positive effects of plants to help us heal include:
 
• Reduces stress and lowers blood pressure;
• Helps new breast cancer patients better tolerate their  diagnosis and treatment; and
• Reduces the amount of pain relievers taken after surgery. 
 
“For centuries we have known that Nature is a great healer. Now we have the science to back it up,” says Debbie Hamrick, NICH Economic Committee chair. “These free infographics are great tools to raise awareness of the power of plants for our health and wellness.”

 

Also read: Infographic: Plants positively impact test scores, classroom learning - The second in a series of data illustrations from the National Initiative for Consumer Horticulture demonstrates the cognitive benefits of plants.

 

Hospitals, doctors, businesses, growers, retailers, teachers, extension agents and interiorscape professionals can use the infographics as promotional and educational materials and upload them to social media.

#PlantsDoThat Inside Where We Heal is part of a series of four infographics, designed by Jennifer Gray, AmericanHort and Horticultural Research Institute. They are free and can be downloaded from NICH’s website www.consumerhort.org/plantsdothat.

The benefits of consumer horticulture are spotlighted in the first NICH infographic titled “#PlantsDoThat, Horticulture: The Art, Science, & Business of Plants”. The infographic illustrates how consumer horticulture contributes $196 billion to the U.S. economy and creates more than 2 million jobs. 

NICH is a consortium of industry leaders who are promoting the benefits and value of horticulture. NICH brings together academia, government, industry, and nonprofits to cultivate the growth and development of a healthy world through landscapes, gardens and plants – indoors and out, and to get 90 percent of U.S. households gardening by 2025.

#PlantsDoThat inside is available at the NICH website ConsumerHort.org/plantsdothat.  

For more information, contact Susan McCoy at susan@gardenmediagroup.com.