According to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Americans spend over 90 percent of their time indoors. The great outdoors can make a positive difference in your attitude and mental state, but when you work in an office, it's not always easy to find time to step outside. That's why biophilic design, which blends nature into your personal indoor space, is becoming more popular among desk workers.
According to Kenneth Freeman, head of innovation at Ambius, biophilia is "humanity's innate need to connect with nature and the natural environment."
"The need to connect with nature is embedded deep within our psyche," Freeman said. "As a species, we have divorced ourselves from our natural habitat: the open plains. Just as zoo animals and lab rats that are placed in sterile, unenriched environments show signs of physical and mental stress, so do humans when forced to work in lean, sterile and unenriched workplaces."