Bringing flowers to someone in the hospital has always been considered a nice thing to do, but researchers say the contact with nature may actually help people recover faster.

Researchers from Kansas State University studied 90 people recovering from an appendectomy. The patients were randomly assigned to hospital rooms with or without plants, and researchers checked how long they stayed in the hospital, how much pain medication they needed and other signs of health and satisfaction.

Patients with plants in their rooms used significantly less pain medication and had lower blood pressure and heart rates.

Overall, they were more satisfied with their entire stay.

Ninety-three percent of those who had flowers said it was the best part of the room, and 91 percent of those without flowers said it was the television.

The authors of the study, which appears in HortTechnology, said potted plants had a stronger effect than cut flowers because they last longer.