There are so many benefits to having a plant in your dorm room. A study by Michigan State found that being around plants can increase memory retention by up to 20 percent! 

Why have plants? 

  • Improve air quality and humidity levels
  • Reduce stress
  • Make people calmer and happier
  • Reduce workplace negativity
  • Reduce symptoms of discomfort and minor ailments
  • Reduce absenteeism
  • Speed up recovery from illness
  • Improve concentration, productivity and creativity
  • Save energy
  • Absorb noise

The Attention Restoration Theory 

  • Proposed by Stephen and Rachel Kaplan in 1989
  • Directed attention is the effortful process that helps individuals focus on objects or events while simultaneously blocking out distracting stimulation
    • Ex. if you are doing work in a cafe, you are able to continue reading and are not distracted by other people’s conversations or the whirring of the coffee machine. 
  • There are limited amounts of directed attention and specific environments can better restore attentional depletion
  • Natural scenes like vegetation or water can be restorative by counteracting stress and facilitating the recovery from mental fatigue

If you still don’t believe us, check out this short article about 5 Reasons to Have Houseplants in Your Dorm Room.