It’s time to buy flowers. Here’s why

Fresh flowers aren’t just good for the soul — they’ve also been scientifically proven to improve certain health outcomes. “Quiet environments can reduce the stress of everyday life,” according to researchers from the University of Bradford. “The presence of vegetation and wildlife has been shown to be an important contributor to assessed tranquility,” they found, noting that visual elements one would see in nature — flowers, for example — have positive effects on people’s ability to to relax.

Flowers have been specifically found to evoke positive emotions. A Rutgers study suggested that our long cultural history of presenting flowers as gifts, association with nearby foods, or some special quality that made flowers natural mood enhancers for humans could be responsible for the significant mood boosts we receive when we surround ourselves with fresh petals .

But it doesn’t end with your emotional well-being. The presence of flowers in patient rooms has been linked to more positive recoveries from major surgeries. One study looked at how patients recovering from appendectomy fared when they had flowers in their hospital rooms compared to those who didn’t. Patients with flowers required fewer postoperative painkillers and “more positive physiological responses” in addition to improved mood. While we don’t know exactly why holding and smelling the roses is so beneficial to our health, being near fresh flowers can calm your mind and body.