Contact with plants is directly beneficial to patients recovering from surgery in hospitals.  Research conducted by the researchers Seong-Hyun Park and Richard H. Mattson at the Department of Horticulture, Recreation and Forestry at Kansas State University indicates that contact with nature helps to reduce stress, increase positive mood and provide distraction from pain.

“Patients with plants in their rooms had significantly fewer intakes of pain medication, more positive physiological responses (lower blood pressure and heart rate), less pain, anxiety, and fatigue, and better overall positive and higher satisfaction with their recovery rooms than their counterparts in the control group without plants in their rooms.”

So, is you want to help speed the recovery of a patients who have had surgery, bring them a potted plant.  The study suggest that potted plants offer the most benefits because they will last longer than cut flowers.  Nursing staff have indicated that patients care for their plants by watering and pruning them as well as moving them to better light.  The patients with plants in their rooms said that the plants were the most positive part of their room.

Potted plants speed recovery from surgery