[sidebar]Pink tulips (or red poppies or yellow daffodils) ease job stress better than a philodendron. In a study of 90 people, women who sat near a bouquet of colorful flowers relaxed during a 5-minute typing assignment. Those near a foliage-only plant didn’t, say horticultural therapy researchers at Kansas State University. Pretty blooms boost pain tolerance. Women who eyed flowering plants in a lab designed to look like a hospital room kept their hands in ice water—a typical pain test—nearly a minute longer than those whose view was flowerless. Flowery fragrances ease sadness and anger. A whiff of lavender during a math exam chased away blue moods for 34 women in another study. Why blooms calm us: Historically, women were gatherers of colorful fruits and veggies, while the guys were off hunting in fields and streams. More from Prevention: Grow Your Own Medicine
