Any sound that causes disturbance is regarded as noise. On a day to day life cycle, much noise is encountered in different places and with varied intensities. The most identifiable of effects of noise is how irritating noise can be. This can lead to agitation and definitely results in poor concentration be it at home, school or work.
Some of the health and social effects of noise include:
- Increased stress levels
- Heightened aggressiveness
- Anxiety
- Sleep disorders
- Hearing impairment
- Cardiovascular effects
Plants have been known to have many benefits to the environment and more so to the human body and mind. Additionally, they can help to reduce background noise, giving us a peaceful environment to live, learn and work in. How do plants do this?
- Absorption: Plants absorb sound. Thick fleshy leaves, barks provide great surfaces to take in sound waves. The bigger the plant’s surface area, the greater the noise reduction.
- Deflection: Sound waves hit plant plants resulting in vibration of these plant parts. This the sound waves into energy and some of it is scattered in other directions at less intensities. Small leafed plants work best here.
- Refraction: Refraction occurs when sound waves pass from one medium (air) onto another (plant) changing their speed and direction. Grouping plants increases provides a medium of varying properties hence reducing the noise.
It is best to position plants at spaced out locations within the office space or room. This will maximize their surface area as opposed to concentrating all plants to one location. Plants placed near walls and corners best absorb sound waves deflected by the walls. This serves to greatly reduce background noise unlike plants located in the middle of the room. Broad-leafed plants absorb noise better than smaller leafed plants yet small-leafed shrubs with higher leaf volume scatter and diffuse sound waves better.
Some useful plants in noise reduction include:
- Peace lilies
- Philodendrons
- Ficus benjamina
- Dracaena marginata
Go green for a better living, or working space!
