Plant power! How plants benefit your health

I tend to believe that, if it's good enough for NASA, it's probably good enough for my home. You know, with the exception of the astronaut food -- yuck. And so, hearing that bringing plants indoors is a secret weapon for NASA was all the convincing I needed to start bringing some of my greenery inside.

There are loads of benefits to having plants in your home, beginning with air quality. NASA sponsored research on the removal of chemicals from the air by plants, and found that houseplants helped remove pollutants like benzene, ammonia, and formaldehyde from the air.

Additionally, there's something called the Biophilia Hypothesis, which basically means that our ancestors might have passed on to us a desire to live in green, natural spaces -- a survival advantage for them. What that means for us is that we have a natural inclination toward other living things, and that simply keeping houseplants around could elicit a "feel good" response.
Check out the gallery to see several of the plants that you might want to keep around. Or, if you have a suggestion for a hearty houseplant, shout it out in the comments!