“I don’t know too much about the health benefits but it just looks nice and it makes me feel happy,” she said.

“The plants obviously make my room more aesethetically pleasing but that’s just the half of it. I can’t pinpoint exactly why but I feel happy and relaxed whenever I’m in the room.”

The Woonona resident may not be able to explain but a new report puts science behind what many of us already suspect – that plants have the power to improve our health and wellbeing.

The research funded by Hort Innovation and undertaken by the University of Melbourne and RMIT University found most plants provide miraculous health and wellbeing benefits.

The researchers concluded, “for the first time ever”, the definitive number of plants needed in the home for optimal health and wellbeing.

Lead researcher Dominique Hes said simply adding one medium sized plant (0.6m x 1.2m tall) to a medium sized room (4m x 5m), increases air quality up to 25 per cent.

And when it comes to improving wellbeing, five or more plants leads to feeling healthier and happier.

Direct benefits include improved mood and concentration, while increased productivity is one of many indirect benefits.

This “makes perfect sense” to Askew, who is studying Human Geography at the University of Wollongong.

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“I knew there was a good reason why I had an abundance of plants in my home and backyard,” she said.

The 22-year-old not only lives in a plant-filled rental property in Woonona, she grows fruit and vegetables in the backyard.

Askew and her housemates also have a chicken pen in their backyard.

“I guess you could say we have indoor plants because they make us feel good and we grow our own food to be sustainable, lessen food waste and improve our health,” she said.

“For most of my adult life I’ve been conscious of my environmental footprint so to speak.”

Pointing to the report, Horticultural Innovation Australia has developed an app allowing users to rate the health of their space then style it to increase the room’s air quality and improve their wellbeing.