A new study reveals the many benefits of desert rain.
An article by Mikayla Mace Kelley for University Communications details a new study out of the University of Arizona suggesting the oils and other chemicals released by desert plants have health benefits for humans, wildlife, and the plants themselves.
According to research social scientist Gary Nabhan, “The fragrant volatile organic compounds from desert plants may in many ways contribute to improving sleep patterns, stabilizing emotional hormones, enhancing digestion, heightening mental clarity, and reducing depression or anxiety.”
In addition Nabhan states, “Their accumulation in the atmosphere. . . also reduces exposure to damaging solar radiation in ways that protect the desert plants themselves, the wildlife that use them as food and shelter, and the humans who dwell among them.”
Citing the creosote bush as the most celebrated for its post-rain fragrance, Nabhan explains that one of the healing compounds that contributes to creosote’s familiar smell is trans-caryophyllene, which actually comes from a fungus that lives inside the plant rather the plant itself, and when the humidity and fierce winds release these compounds, “they travel into our lungs and into our bloodstream within minutes.”
Source: https://news.arizona.edu/story/smell-desert-rain-may-be-good-your-health
