It is no secret that high levels of stress and anxiety can have a negative impact on your health and well being. Stress does not just affect your mental state – high stress levels can also contribute to a host of serious illnesses, including killers like heart attacks and strokes.

If you are suffering from high levels of anxiety and stress, you could spend big bucks and head off to the local spa for a day of pampering. But wouldn’t it be great if you could relax and unwind without spending a fortune? Luckily, you can.

A number of recent studies have shown that simply bringing flowers home can calm your reeling mind and help you be more relaxed and less aggressive. Relaxation and flowers just seem to go together, so living a calmer and happier life could be just a bouquet away.

There is something relaxing about fresh cut flowers, and their bright vibrant colors and arresting aroma is enough to calm even the busiest mind. If you are having a bad day at work and feel like you are at the end of your rope, do yourself a favor and stop by the store for a big bouquet of fresh cut flowers on your way home.

You do not have to take our word for the fact that fresh cut flowers can have a profound impact on your stress level and your mental well being. No less an authority than Rutgers University has found that flowers are linked to calmness, relaxation and an overall sense of well being.

A recent behavioral research study conducted by Rutgers University found that the mere presence of fresh flowers is enough to trigger a host of happy emotions. That same study also found that fresh flowers heighten feelings of satisfaction with life, and that they even make social interactions and social behavior better and more productive.

In conducting the study, the team of researchers at Rutgers University explored the link between exposure to flowers and satisfaction with life. The Rutgers study was conducted over a 10 month period of time, and it compiled a list of responses about mood and life satisfaction as it related to flowers. The results were quite intriguing, and among their findings are the following.

  • Flowers bring an immediate increase in happiness. Every participant in the study smiled upon receiving their flowers, and they demonstrated feelings of gratitude and delight as a result
  • Flowers also have a positive long-term impact on mood and happiness. The good feelings flowers create do not fade – they endure and get stronger over time
  • The mere presence of flowers helped strengthen connections with family members and friends.

While some have expressed surprise at the results of the Rutgers study, those results should not come as a shock. Just think about how delighted and happy you were the last time your spouse surprised you with a bouquet of flowers for no reason, or how pleased you felt when you received flowers on Mother’s Day. Flowers have the power to make us happier, so spruce up your stressful office with a big bouquet of fresh cut blooms. Click here to see full study.