Are Home Plants in the Bedroom Good?

Written by MiquelM in Greenery

We all know the mental and physical benefits of having plants in our house, but will one inside the bedroom have the same effect? There’s a lot of discussions about it, and in this post, we will provide our input to answer the question. So let’s answer the question: will home plants in your bedroom really be beneficial for you?

Home plants in the bedroom are good. However, you need to have the right type of plant. The only caveat is if you are into Feng Shui. In Feng Shui, plants emit energy that contradicts your sleep—so they are not recommended. We follow science though, so we think plants in your bedroom are good.

In the rest of the post, we will have a look at what science has to say about plants in the bedroom and which type of plant you should be using. By the end of this article, you’ll understand the reasons behind the argument and find the balance in having home plants in the bedroom.

Plants in the Bedroom: Good or Bad?

This topic has been a hot topic for quite some time. Let’s start with the people that do not recommend having the plants in the bedroom. Some people don’t recommend having plants in the bedroom because of Feng Shui. Feng Shui experts say that plants produce energy that can contradict your sleep. There’s no scientific publication that supports this claim, but if you believe in Feng Shui, having home plants in your bedroom isn’t advisable.

There’s also the scientific side that states that plants produce carbon dioxide at night. This claim may be surprising for many of us because we’ve learned that plants absorb carbon dioxide and produce oxygen. But an important piece of that process is sunlight. Without sunlight, photosynthesis won’t occur, and plants can’t produce oxygen. So instead, plants produce carbon dioxide at night.

That’s a scary thought because instead of providing you with the oxygen you need, plants produce more carbon dioxide during your sleep. There are even some who say that they feel paranoid about having plants in their bedroom at night. Of course, these are plants, and there’s very little risk to suffer from Hypercapnia – a condition where a person has too much carbon dioxide in the blood.

However, if you are scared about that (you should not be), an option is to take the plants out while you sleep and let them purify the air for you in the morning. By doing this, you also provide your plants with the ideal environment for photosynthesis to occur.

Now let’s get to the arguments in favor of plants in the bedroom. If you are worried about carbon dioxide being released at night, you can choose a type of plant that does not produce carbon dioxide at night. One of the best examples is the Dracaena trifasciata (snake plant). This plant traps oxygen during the day and releases it at night. With it in your bedroom, you won’t have to worry about carbon dioxide being released at night.

Our bedroom is where we rest, a place we use to escape the stress of our daily lives, and a place where we go to get a good night’s sleep. We install many things in our bedroom to make it more comfortable, but did you know that many of these can produce chemicals that may affect our health?

These chemicals can affect the air quality in our bedroom and could even affect our sleep. Your insulation, carpet, and even the paint you used can make your bedroom less ideal. But it doesn’t mean that you have to remove these things just to get a good night’s sleep. Home plants can do the job for you and help you reduce these chemicals in your bedroom.

Benefits of Home Plants in Your Bedroom

Despite the arguments above that home plants are not good, there are indisputable benefits that you can get from these plants. Below you will find the main ones that can significantly affect your daily life and your physical and mental health. Here are the benefits that you can get from having home plants in your bedroom:

  1. They can improve the air quality in your bedroom. According to research published in 2018, home plants can help purify the air by removing indoor pollutants that many of us take for granted, including benzene and formaldehyde. Home plants can help you eliminate as much as 80% of the volatile organic compounds within 12 hours. It’ll not only help you get better air quality but also affect your overall health.
  1. They can help relieve your stress. Have you ever wondered why everyone suddenly had an interest in plants during the pandemic? According to research published in 2015, actively maintaining plants is an effective way to forget about stress and troublesome things happening in your life. So having one in your bedroom can definitely help you feel more relaxed while you’re trying to rest.
  1. They can make your bedroom more appealing. It doesn’t only apply to your bedroom; any room feels more lively with an indoor plant, and it can instantly brighten up your space. One potted plant can make a lot of difference to the feeling you get from staying in your bedroom.
  1. They promote faster healing. According to research published in 2002, people recovering from injuries and illnesses require less medication and recover faster if they look at plants during the recovery process. Besides hospitals, where else do you think would it be better to have plants if you’re trying to recover?
  1. They can make you feel more comfortable. Aside from purifying the air and adding life to your bedroom, home plants can also increase your bedroom’s relative humidity and help you reduce noise. Both are simple ways that can instantly make your bedroom a more comfortable place for you to stay.

Best Home Plants That You Can Use for Your Bedroom

As we said before, snake plants are a great option for your bedroom because they release oxygen at night. However, there are also other plants that can be suitable for use in a bedroom. We have listed some of our favorite below:

  • Chlorophytum comosum (Spider plant): this plant is one of the easiest plants to grow, and you don’t have to do a lot for it to thrive. It will do well with indirect light in a spot that doesn’t get too hot and well-drained soil.
  • Spathiphyllum sp. (Peace lily): this plant will be an interesting addition to your bedroom because it has white blooms that add elegance to its dark green leaves. It only needs indirect sunlight, so you don’t have to do a lot to maintain it.
  • Aloe vera: if your bedroom gets enough sunlight, this is one of the best home plants that you can have. It thrives well without the need to water it because it’s succulent and does really well in dry conditions.

Conclusion

There are claims that home plants in the bedroom will be bad for you. We believe that these are not sufficiently backed by science and what science has proved is that home plants are, indeed beneficial, helping purify the air.

Sources

Recent Posts