Feel Blue? Go Green

　

感觉忧郁？选择绿色

Could house plants transform you into the ideal employee? At a conference in Amsterdam this weekend, organized by the Plants for People group, scientists will show how plants in offices could be the key to lowering stress and its related health problems at work. The results of studies indicate that house plants not only improve air quality but can boost productivity and reduce the amount of sick leave taken by staff.    室内植物能使你成为一名理想的员工吗？这个周末"有益人们健康的植物"组织将在Amsterdam召开一个会议，届时，科学家们将说明办公室内植物如何可以成为减轻压力及与其相关的工作中健康问题的关键因素。研究结果表明室内植物不仅可以改善空气质量，而且还能提高生产率并减少员工请病假的次数。When Professor Virginia Lohr, of Washington State University, asked two groups of students, both working in windowless offices, to complete computer-based tests, she found that reaction time was 12 per cent faster and stress levels much lower among those who had plants on their desks.    华盛顿州立大学的Virginia Lohr教授发现,当她要求同样在无窗办公室内工作的两组学生来完成电脑测试时，桌上放有植物一组的反应时间比另一组要快12%，而他们所感受到的压力程度也比另一组要低得多。Similar results  were recorded by Helen Russell, an environmental  scientist  at the University of Surrey, who asked subjects to perform   mental   arithmetic  exercises while being distracted by irritating noises as she measured changes in their heart rate and blood pressure. Again, when plants were introduced, indicators of  stress  were far  lower. Both researchers agree that the air purifying action of plants helped to create a more relaxed environment; in Russell’s study, plants led eventually to a 60 per cent fall in absenteeism from work.Surrey大学的环境科学家He?鄄len Russell也得出类似结论，她要求受试者在有噪声干扰的情况下进行心算练习，同时她对他们心跳和血压的变化进行了测量。同样，在放置了植物以后，压力指标就要低得多。这两位研究者都认为植物的净化空气作用有助于创造一个更为宽松的环境；Russell的研究揭示，植物最终使得上班请假率下降了60%。Placing plants in poorly ventilated rooms has long been known to improve air quality and humidity. But it is now thought that the ability of plants to reduce levels of volatile organic chemicals emitted from man-made materials used in products such as paints, carpets, furniture and glue  has a direct influence on stress and health at work.人们早就知道将植物置于通风性差的房间里能改善空气质量和湿度。然而现在人们认为植物减少挥发性有机化合物（VOCs ）--- 一种由油漆、地毯、家具和胶水等产品中使用的人造原料所散发的有毒气体含量的能力会直接影响工作压力和健康。The average office provides an air-borne cocktail of compounds from dry cleaning chemicals, shampoos, soaps and deodorants adding to the VOCs. “Almost everyone carries VOCs on them,” says Dr Ronald Wood, of Sydney University of Technology. “When chemical emissions are multiplied by the number of people in any place, the exposure to risks is phenomenal. VOCs are believed to be a major cause of headaches, stress, lethargy, sore eyes and respiratory problems. Plants metabolise pollutants; they literally clean the air we breathe.”普通办公室空气中含有混合物，它们由干洗剂、洗发水、肥皂和除臭剂散发的化学物质组成，这就增加了室内VOCs含量。“几乎每个人都携带有VOCs，” 悉尼技术大学的Ronald Wood博士说，“如果将散发出的化学物质与当地人数相乘，人们所置身的危险程度就相当可观。VOCs被认为是导致头疼、压力、无精打采、眼睛酸痛和呼吸系统问题的主要原因。而植物能使污染物分解并产生变化，可以说它们就是我们所呼吸的空气的清洁工。”Other studies have shown impressive results. Professor Tove Fjeld, of the University of Agriculture in Oslo, questioned Norwegian pupils and office workers about their working conditions and state of mind. He found that the presence of house plants increased concentration levels by 33 per cent, reduced headaches by 45 per cent and resulted in 31 per cent fewer complaints about dry throats and coughs. Almost 33 per cent of people were less tired, and colds and runny noses dropped by 11 per cent.其它研究结果也给人留下深刻印象。在位于Oslo农业大学任职的Tove Fjeld教授对挪威小学生和办公室职员的工作条件和思想状态进行了调查。他发现室内放置植物以后，人们注意力的集中程度提高了33%，头疼现象减少了45%，喉咙发干和咳嗽情况下降了31%。近33%的人不象原来那么疲劳了，而感冒和流鼻涕症状则减少了11%。“The roots of plants break down chemicals that have been absorbed through the soil or leaves and turn them into food for the plants. We found that this lowered VOCs by a third,” Fjeld says. “A similar process helps plants to control humidity, helping to prevent coughs and sore throats.”"植物根部把从泥土或树叶中吸收来的化学物质进行分解，使其转变成营养。我们发现植物的分解变化作用使VOCs减少了三分之一，" Fjeld说，"另一个类似过程则帮助植物来控制湿度，从而避免了咳嗽和咽喉疼痛症状的发生。"In America and Australia many companies, persuaded by Wood's research, insist on installing plants to improve indoor air. "A 1 per cent loss in productivity by employees who are dissatisfied with work conditions equates to almost four times the average cost of heating or air-conditioning the entire building. That could be prevented with the use of plants," he says.美国和澳大利亚的很多公司听从了Wood研究的建议，坚持放置植物来改善室内空气。"由于员工对工作环境不满而导致每1%的生产率下降就近乎给整栋大楼提供暖气或空调所花去平均费用的四倍。而这种现象可以通过利用室内放置植物来预防，"他说。“Investing  in  more  plants is one of the most cost-effective ways of raising staff morale.” “在办公室内投资放置更多植物是提高员工士气的最省钱的途径之一。”