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35% of Office Workers Spend Less Than 15 Minutes Outdoors Each Day

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A survey carried out by a well-known company showed some alarming statistics. They concluded that office workers tend to spend limited amount of time outdoors every day. Around 5% of Office Workers Spend Less Than 15 Minutes Outdoors Each Day (excluding the time taken for travelling). Around 20 to 22 percent people spend just about 30 minutes outdoors. This is quite less in comparison to the prisoners who have to compulsorily spend one hour outside. An average time spent by an individual on his or her desk is rising. More than 7 to 8 hours are being spent on their desk whereas the other times are allotted to staying at home, in the bed, and so on.

As Office Workers Spend Less Than 15 Minutes Outdoors Each Day and not getting enough of fresh air, insufficient exposure to natural sunlight and complete absence of indoor plants are considered to be few of the sources for stress and frustration in the employee. This in turn is harming the productivity as well as the health of the individual without them even knowing about the same. Getting closer to nature has seen a lot of improvement in the physical and mental aspect of an individual. Excessive sitting at the desk can harm the body and it has a negative impact on the metabolism rate. It also tends to have an impact on the blood pressure levels, slow breakdown of fat and impacts how the sugar is regulated in the body. All of factors give rise to certain health issues such as obesity, diabetes, lung problems, high blood pressure, depression and so on.

Why is there a need to connect with nature?

We humans have always had the need to stay close to the nature or greenery. With the rapid changes occurring around us, there is a hoard for competition among one another. This has led to longer duration of working hours, spending on luxurious items and staying indoors in air conditioned offices or homes. The managers or the bosses should need to be made aware that all of this would someday have a negative impact on the mind and body of the individual. It would start affecting the well-being of the individual. When you start to bring the natural elements at workplace or at home then it would lead to positive impacts. Nature has the power to change the mental status of the individual, which in turn can lead to increase in performance, more creativity, increase in productivity. Nature has the answer to all your queries. It tends to act as a natural booster for the well-being of the individual. Below are few of the reasons why one should always stay associated with nature:

  • Restoration of mental energy: Mental fatigue is taking over people wherein the brain seems to halt of a sudden and you become blank. The individual in a split second does not seem to be aware of what they were doing. Exposing oneself to environment can help in getting the mind back that seems to be lost. Researchers have also confirmed that staying outdoors for certain amount of time has a lot of mental benefit. In few cases it was found out that people who just look at the picture of nature would instantly feel energized and bounce back. Green walls are of help since it surely helps in relaxing the mind indoors.
  • Improvement in the short-term memory: Taking a walk in the nature or among the greens also promoted the memory of the individual. In our urban environment, it often feels stressful when you take a stroll but when you have a short walk in a garden or a park you instantly feel energized.
  • Relief from stress: Are you always stressed and tensed even in small matters? Do you feel anxious when a project is handed over to you for completion? Then get up and head for the trees. In one of the study it was found out that a walk in the forest or among the trees helped in the lowering of stress hormone called cortisol. The research also found out that it led to reduction in heart rate in addition to the reduction in the levels of cortisol. They say, stressful states can surely be relieved with the help of forest therapy.
  • Improvement in concentration: We all are aware that the natural environment has the restorative power. Hence just a walk outside and away from the city life can help in restoring the weakening attention. Nature has shown a lot of power, wherein even the children suffering from ADHD have found to be concentrating better with just a short stroll in the park.

With so many benefits provided by nature, we surely have to say that nature does deserve its own dues. We are slowly forgetting the importance of nature and in a rush to move ahead we are destroying the natural habitat that is affecting not only animals but also us humans. The destruction of nature has not only impacted the climate but also led to a rise of toxins in the environment. Hence it is time that we bring back nature into our lives and convert this concrete world into a natural habitat.

The living walls or indoor vertical gardens are turning out to be a popular trend not only at home but also at offices. Since it is not an excuse for a person to not step outdoors while at work but surely to an extent, this technology helps in providing fresh air and positivity for that certain duration when the individual is indoors. Living walls purifies the air and also reduce the need for air conditioning or any other system. In a way it absorbs all the harmful pollutants and in return it provides fresh and clean air to the individuals. More and more corporates are adopting this technology.  As an individual you can also personalize your desk by having small plants in your desk. There is a need for thorough research on which plants are best suited indoors considering all the factors. It is time to encourage physical fitness, mental fitness and better air quality where we breathe.

What types of plants are used in living green walls?

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The living green walls are being considered as one of the best ways to make that space stand out from the rest. Whether this living green walls is in placed in a home or whether it is a business organization, it brings about a visual appearance that seems to be too welcoming and inviting. It not only provides that aesthetic look to it but it has a lot of potential health benefits for the members. Even though the green walls are something that can be custom made based on the preferences of the client but there are certain plants used in living green walls that are well suited to be used on these walls instead of going in for any plants.

Once we understand the benefits and principles of living green walls, it is also equally important to carefully select the types of plants used in living green walls. Since there are varied systems which are used for creating these living walls hence these systems and structures in a way can also help in determining what kind of species of plants would work well on the wall. Also there are other conditions that should be taken a note of such as, what are the preferences of the owner, growth structure of each plant varies such as some of them grow upwards and some not, the lighting conditions and so on.

Below are few of the types of plants used in living green walls that can be used in the structure:

  • Lipstick plant: This is also referred to as Aeschynanthus radicans and is considered to be one of the best type of houseplant mostly as part of the hanging basket. This plant would mostly need less amount of light and dry conditions. It is a free flowering species which has shiny green leaves with a touch of burgundy beneath. This plant has red colored rich flowers which would emerge from the black calyces along with certain waves of bloom through the entire year. Growing these lipstick plants can turn out to be an easy task since it would not need much of the deep soil hence it can easily thrive in these vertical wall structure. Since it also has the need for less amount of light hence it can be grown indoors as well.
  • Rabbit’s foot fern: The scientific name for this plant is Davallia fejeensis. You can say that this plant has some fuzzy little feet which tends to stick out from the base. The roots are furry and they would establish themselves if they are given some soil or one can also break those roots and place them into moist soil for establishing some more plants. This is a bit different than the other ferns since it does not like to be kept moist all the time and it would also prefer low levels of light.
  • Wedding Vine: The scientific name is Stephanotis Floribunda and they prove to be quick grower. It gets its name from the huge usage during the wedding ceremonies. It is known to be a vining evergreen plant having large tubular flowers that are white in color and they would grow above 20 feet in height. You can place it on the top of the living wall and allow it to trail upwards. Vines are mostly low on maintenance and they can grow pretty much easily. They thrive well even in the indirect sunlight.
  • Cretan brake fern: These are also referred to as Pteris Cretica and is a type of fern. When the conditions seem right these ferns grow very well. They cannot tolerate dry soil hence there is a need that the soil in which it is placed should be close to the water source. The fronds of this plant are pale green in color. It has quite a delicate as well as graceful appearance. They have quite a unique and distinct appearance from the rest.
  • Pothos: This plant is also called as Epipremnum sp and it is considered to be one of the best type of indoor plants even for low light cases. It is a part of the vining plant and very easy in terms of maintenance. They can also be hung from their resting place and sure see them grow in the direction you place them.
  • Crotons: The crotons are also called as Codiaeum variegatum pictum. They are basically small colorful shrubs having leathery leaves which turn out to be quite colorful when in bright light. When the light is low then the leaves would be less pigmented and they would be smaller as well. This plant should be grown at 60 to 80 degrees Fahrenheit along with high humidity. Between watering, it is important to allow the surface of the soil to dry.
  • Dracaena: These are popularly found house plants and most of them are known to be growing in the upward direction having strap like leaves. The leaves of dracaena are seen to be bicolored, yellowish, reddish, and creams. These plants have known to be growing well across a range of different temperature but they do not prefer to be kept in chilled ambience. In case if these plants are placed away from the light then the colors of the leaves would start to fade slightly but they surely can tolerate less amount of light conditions. These plants prefer to be kept a bit dry since they take up less of water.
  • Succulents: The succulents are known to be the majorly used plants when it comes to the living green walls and it is due to their adaptability as well as resistance to the changes in the temperature and the climate conditions. You can consider having plants such as, echeveria, pearls, sedum.
  • Begonias: For those people who are looking to hang their living wall in a particular place where there is ample amount of sunlight then at such places growing begonias would turn out to be a good idea.

Apart from the ones mentioned above, other plants you can grow as living green walls are: