The Health Benefits of Spider Plant

Spider Plant scientifically known as Chlorophytum Comosum is an indoor plant that offers many health benefits as it is commonly used to remove harmful chemicals from the air.

Native to Africa spider plant is a wild green leafy vegetable that is now grown in other parts of the world like tropical Africa, Asia, and the Americas and prefer a light spot, preferably near a window. 

In homes with central heating, don’t place the Spider Plant directly on a windowsill with a radiator. Imagine yourself simultaneously dipping your feet in a hot tub, while your head is stuck in a fridge. This will give a rough idea of how uncomfortable the Spider Plant might feel.

High in vitamins and micronutrients, spider plant contributes to a healthy diet for many rural Africans with limited food budgets. It is known to have high levels of beta-carotene and vitamin C, calcium, protein, magnesium and powerful anti-oxidants.

The health benefits associated with the spider plant is its ability to absorb carbon monoxide. Carbon monoxide is a colourless, odourless, and tasteless toxic gas. Although helpful in moderation in the earth’s atmosphere, it can be lethal to humans.

Being exposed to carbon monoxide leads to a variety of symptoms that include headache, nausea, weakness, exhaustion, dizziness, confusion and angina. 

Adding plants to hospital rooms speeds recovery rates of surgical patients, according to researchers at Kansas State University. Compared to patients in rooms without plants, patients in rooms with plants request less pain medication, have lower heart rates and blood pressure, experience less fatigue and anxiety, and are released from the hospital sooner.

The Dutch Product Board for Horticulture commissioned a workplace study that discovered that adding plants to office settings decreases fatigue, colds, headaches, coughs, sore throats and flu-like symptoms. In another study by the Agricultural University of Norway, sickness rates fell by more than 60 percent in offices with plants.