In recent years, the style of Scandinavian interior design has become immensely popular across the globe. Its main ingredient is white, but it’s also characterized by simplicity, functionality, and minimalism. Keeping your space clean and uncluttered is great, but to be completely honest, we’re tired of having to spend so much time cleaning. We also can’t help but wonder, have we become too clean for our own good?

According to a new study from Karolinska Institutet in Stockholm and Helsingfors University, mice with access to soil have greater resistance to allergies. It appears to be the close contact with microorganisms in the soil that triggers anti-inflammatory genes in the mice, and stimulates their gut microbiota. Interesting!

In the study, recently published in the Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology, researchers compared the allergic inflammation in mice that live in cages with an added earthen floor, with that in mice that live in clean cages with sawdust. Both groups of mice developed allergic inflammations, but the mice that lived with access to soil developed a considerably milder inflammation. The study also suggests a direct connection between the inflammation and the composition of microbes in the intestinal tract.

According to Noora Ottman, a researcher at the Institute of Environmental Medicine at Karolinska Institutet, allowing more greenery into our daily environment, such as in offices, schools and homes, could positively affect our health.

We say it’s time to embrace nature! And let’s start by adding some greenery to the heart of our homes. No time to lose, leave the vacuum in the closet and visit your local florist! Flower power!

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