Plants Help People Tolerate Pain

L* B*

Hi Everyone,
Here's something to ponder.  Adam, surely you should have something to say
about this.

Plants Help People Tolerate Pain

Results of a study which were published earlier this year in the journal
Horttechology, says that people in rooms with houseplants can tolerate more
physical pain than those in surroundings without any plants, according to
the study conducted at Washington State University.

In the study each participant was asked to put a hand in a bowl of ice water
and keep it there for as long as possible, up to 5 minutes. The control
group of 67 people completed the experiment while in a windowless room
without plants or decorative items.

Another group of 69 people went through the routine in the same room with
several houseplants, such as lipstick plant, philodendron and bamboo palm.
The remaining 62 participants took part in the experiment in the room
without the plants but with the addition of colorful posters, a table lamp
and other visually pleasing objects.

Participants in the room with plants could tolerate more pain by keeping
their hands in the ice water longer than either of the other groups,
according to Virginia Lohr, horticulture professor, and research technician
Caroline Pearson-Mims

=====================================
Laura Berman
Community Garden Programme Coordinator
FoodShare Toronto
238 Queen St. West
Toronto, Ontario M5V 1Z7
Phone:   (416) 392-1668
Fax:        (416) 392-6650
email: laura@foodshare.net
            cgnetwork@foodshare.net
web:    www.foodshare.net

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