Bananas to Beat Stress: Chinese Office Workers Grow Plants on Their Desks

Bananas contain compounds that can reduce stress and improve sleep. Vitamin B9 in bananas has antidepressant properties, while tryptophan and vitamin B6 help with sleep. In China, where the average working week exceeds 49 hours, young people often seek ways to alleviate stress. It's interesting to note that a Chinese worker even started growing bananas at his office desk.

A year after Chinese youths turned to tree-hugging for stress relief, a new trend has emerged: cultivating bananas in the office. This quirky practice, dubbed "stop banana green" ("ting zhi jiao lu" in Mandarin), has gained traction on Xiaohongshu, China's equivalent of Instagram, according to the South China Morning Post. Employees buy green bananas, known for their anxiety-busting properties. These bananas are then transferred to vases.

After about a week of nurturing, the bananas ripen and are ready to eat. This process serves as a fun distraction from work tension. "From lush green to golden yellow, every moment is filled with endless hope and surprises... Eat away the anxiety and let your troubles vanish," read a post shared on Xiaohongshu.

The practice is also seen as a way to foster better relationships at work by sharing the bananas with colleagues. An online observer noted that these "desktop bananas naturally generate conversation." Photographs going viral on the social media platform show bananas with names written on their skins before being handed out to colleagues.

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Some believe that this trend might be a marketing stunt by banana farmers to tackle the slump in sales. "Are bananas not selling well this year? I've seen this type of banana being advertised more than once, and they are more expensive than buying them directly," read a post by a Xiaohongshu user. Besides bananas, some young office workers are even growing pineapples in vases. Psychologist Yu Guangrui told Shanghai's Youth Newspaper, "Customising workstations according to personal preferences allows young people to create a sense of belonging and security in their own little space, helping them feel happier at work."