Use Fresh Flowers to Improve Your Mood

Have you ever received a bouquet of fresh flowers? Do you remember how good it made you feel? Well, studies have shown that receiving flowers has an almost immediate positive effect on our moods. Now another study has shown that those positive effects are more extensive than previously thought.

Recent research by a psychologist at Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School followed the activities and moods of 55 people ranging in age from 25 to 60. Scientific research usually involves the presence of a "control" in order to compare its effects with those of the object being studied, and in this case the control was a new home decor item. Half the participants received the control item, and the other half received fresh flowers. Then everyone kept diaries recording their moods and activities during the two-week time frame of the study.

The results showed that the people with the fresh flowers in their home felt less worried and had fewer periods of anxiety or depression. They also felt more considerate of other people. And interestingly, they brought those effects to their workplaces. At work they were more relaxed and also had more energy and enthusiasm. The general effect of living with fresh flowers, for even this short period, was that people just felt more positive - about both their personal and professional lives.

The leader of the study, Nancy Etcoff, PhD, was very impressed by its results, and especially by the carryover of emotions to the workplace. As a result, she plans another study focusing on the effects of fresh flowers at work.

If you'd like to conduct your own "research" in this area, here are a few suggestions:
- Make sure you get real flowers, not artificial ones.
- Place the flowers in areas where people spend a lot of time; that's what the study participants did. The most popular areas for flowers seem to be the living and dining rooms and the kitchen. But if you have children who have their own playroom, you might want to try some there as well. Perhaps their positive effect will result in less sibling fighting.
- When the flowers start to get old, replace them with fresh ones. Looking at droopy, brown-edged blossoms is not a positive experience for most people!
- Experiment with different colors, shapes, and sizes of flowers. Some people like big bouquets; for others, just a couple of blooms in a small vase will be enough.
- Consider scents. The aromas of some flowers can fill a room. Make sure their fragrances are ones people like and are not sensitive to.

The results of the study are not surprising. Fresh flowers are a sign of life, and can be especially heartening during the dark and dreary days of winter. But even if the weather's not depressing, the everyday events of life might be. So the next time you or someone you care about needs a pick-me-up, think about getting some fresh flowers. That one small purchase may really make a difference.