Study: Looking at desk plant for three minutes decreases stress

The experiment was done with sixty-three workers in Japan to track the psychological and physiological changes before and after placing a plant on the worker's desk. The researchers measured psychological stress in the participants using the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory. The ratio of the participants whose pulse rate lowered significantly after a 3-minute rest with interaction with their desk plant proved definitive.

The whole point of the study was to verify the stress-reducing effect of gazing intentionally at a plant in a real office setting when a worker felt fatigued during office hours. Both passive and active involvement with plants in the workplace was considered for their contribution to the mitigation of stress and fatigue.

Participants had both passive (visual access) and active (taking care) involvement with plants. Furthermore, the researchers considered that intentionally gazing at the plant was, though not involving physical movement, active interaction with plants that office workers could do quickly and easily at their desks. Participants were open to choose their preference for the plant and kept it near to their work desk.

The calming effects calculated during the study showed that anxiety decreased significantly from pre to post-intervention. The researchers suggest that placing small plants within close sight contributed to psychological stress reduction across the board.

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