50 THE QUEENS COURIER • WELLNESS • SEPTEMBER 20, 2018 FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT WWW.QNS.COM
wellness
A Surprising Solution for Stress Relief
From fi nances and health concerns to
lengthy to-do lists, there are numerous
sources of strain in the lives of most people.
According to a survey conducted by
Wakefi eld Research, 68 percent of people
feel stress on a weekly basis and 32
percent are stressed every day. Women,
in particular, are impacted, as 25 percent
surveyed reported experiencing stress
multiple times a day. However, today
there is a surprisingly simple way to
relieve stress: fl owers.
New research from the University of
North Florida's Department of Public
Health shows that living with fl owers can
signifi cantly alleviate daily stress. Th ese
fi ndings follow decades of behavioral
research studies conducted by researchers
at universities including Harvard, Rutgers
and Texas A&M that demonstrate fl owers'
ability to make people happy, strengthen
feelings of compassion, foster creativity
and even provide boosts of energy.
Th e study, titled Th e Impact of Flowers
on Perceived Stress Among Women, concludes
that adding fl owers to indoor environments
results in a statistically signifi -
cant and meaningful reduction in stress.
"Th ere is a growing body of research that
illustrates how environmental design positively
impacts health," said lead researcher
Erin Largo-Wight, Ph.D., associate professor
of the University of North Florida's
Department of Public Health. "Now it is
both intuitive and scientifi cally known
that adding elements of nature, like fl owers,
to interiors promotes well-being."
Th e specifi c results include:
• Th e average reduction in stress among
women who received and lived with
fl owers was minus-5.5 points on the
perceived stress questionnaire, a signifi -
cant statistical decrease in stress.
• Flowers are a unique gift with the proven
potential to reduce stress among
women, likely because fl owers provide
the opportunity for nature contact, an
established health-promoting environmental
exposure.
• Participants who received fl owers
overwhelmingly reported that fl owers
improved their moods.
"Our fi ndings are important from a
public health perspective because adding
fl owers to reduce stress does not require
tremendous eff ort to generate a meaningful
eff ect," Largo-Wight said. "When life
seems to be in a constant state of frenzy,
fl owers can provide a much-needed
moment of calm."
For more information about the study,
along with tips on relieving stress, visit
aboutfl owers.com/stressless.
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