The Power in Flowers
February is fast approaching along with the ‘lover’s holiday’, Valentines Day. Every year, on this day, people flock to purchase flowers for loved ones. As a mental health professional I wonder; is there power behind giving flowers to a loved one? Or, is Valentines Day just another marketing tool for consumers?
In my exploration of this question I came upon an article from the National Library of Medicine (1). This article reviewed a study completed during the Covid-19 pandemic which assessed the psychological and physiological impact of looking at different colored flowers. In this study, participants had improved mood and increased parasympathetic nervous system activity after looking at red and yellow flowers for just 3 minutes. This suggests that the mere sight of flowers can put the human body into a state of rest, repair, and calm. As therapists we know this is the body state we prize for optimum mental health.
Another article catching my attention reviewed behavioral research conducted at Rutgers (2). According to this research, flowers have an instant positive impact on happiness, they have a long term positive effect on mood, and they make intimate connections. Researcher, Dr. Haviland-Jones, concludes that science shows “flowers make us happier and improve our emotional wellbeing more than we originally knew.” Beyond common assumption, science shows flowers can improve mental health. Another point for the power in flowers!
One more article from Rutgers titled, Power of Giving Flowers Study (3), reveals that people who give flowers as gifts are viewed as “successful, caring and emotionally intelligent.” This suggests that flowers not only improve the mood of the recipient, they also improve social status of the giver!
The quest to unmask the impact flowers have on mood has revealed proof that flowers, whether growing in your garden, blooming in a field, or cut and wrapped into a gift have the power to positively impact our sense of wellbeing and happiness. Furthermore, giving flowers not only improves mood for the recipient, it improves social perceptions of the giver. For this reason, its safe to say that although quite commercialized, a Valentine bouquet can make the recipient feel happier and more connected and the giver quite accomplished.
Xie J, Liu B, Elsadek M. How Can Flowers and Their Colors Promote Individuals' Physiological and Psychological States during the COVID-19 Lockdown? Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2021 Sep 29;18(19):10258. doi: 10.3390/ijerph181910258. PMID: 34639557; PMCID: PMC8507779.
Rutgers: Flowers Improve Emotional Health. https://safnow.org/aboutflowers/quick-links/health-benefits-research/emotional-impact-of-flowers-study/
Rutgers: Power of Giving Flowers Study. https://safnow.org/aboutflowers/quick-links/health-benefits-research/power-of-giving-flowers-study/
