+0.5
greater self-reported attentiveness with indoor plants present
Exact: increase of 0.5 on a self-reported scale from one to five
Participants in the room with plants reported feeling 0.5 points more attentive (on a 1–5 scale) after completing the task
Self-reported attentiveness, measured on a scale of one to five, was half a point higher among participants who completed the computer task in the presence of plants. This finding suggests that indoor greenery may enhance perceived focus and mental engagement even in brief, task-oriented sessions.
Immediately after completing the task, participants in the room with plants present reported feeling more attentive (an increase of 0.5 on a self-reported scale from one to five) than people in the room with no plants.
Related findings
20%+
more than one in five office workers dissatisfied regardless of WELL certification
Over 1 in 5 office workers dissatisfied with their physical environment regardless of certification
Samin Marzban et al., 2023, Building and Environment
~33%
roughly one in three hospitals had a designated healing garden by 2025
By 2000–2025, approximately 33% of hospitals had designated healing gardens
Zandi A et al., 2025, Frontiers in physiology
+47%
biophilic office design linked to higher well-being among workers
Biophilic design is linked to a 47% increase in well-being in office contexts
Zandi A et al., 2025, Frontiers in physiology
Read more in
Healthcare
Education What school spaces do to children
Where the evidence on classroom air, acoustics, light and green is robust, where it is thin, and what to measure before the build.
Housing What an insecure home does to people
Britain abolished no-fault eviction. The evidence reads it as a health intervention, and the market decides who it reaches.
More from The Built Review
Workplace Pricing biophilia: what the evidence is worth
Read at the primary sources, the business case for nature in buildings is narrower than advertised and strong enough to act on.
Healthcare Built to Wake: How Hospital Noise and Light Undermine Patient Sleep
Of the two environmental levers on inpatient sleep, noise control is the better proven and the cheaper, while tunable lighting for the general ward is the one the evidence does not yet support.
Workplace Germany's missing indoor-air bill
France, Britain and Australia have priced bad indoor air. Germany's missing number is a political choice, not a methodological limit.