Anything safe and easy that can help you get a better night’s sleep and boost your mood is worth a try, right?
It turns out that adding a little greenery to your bedroom can improve all that and more.
The right plants can help create a more peaceful environment (possibly reducing stress), help reduce carbon dioxide levels, increase humidity, improve air quality by reducing levels of pollutants, keep airborne dust levels at bay, and keep air temperatures down.
Sounds like the perfect recipe for a restful night!
Plants can even help reduce background noise for those who live in noisy areas – yet another strategy for a more tranquil space!
If you want to invest in some greenery, here are 8 ideal plants to look into:
1. Snake Plant (Sansevieria)
This one is also charmingly known as Mother-in-Law’s Tongue. While that doesn’t make it sound ideal for a restful night, variations of this plant can help remove pollutants such as nitrogen, xylene, and formaldehyde from the air.
So try this one for some easy breathing.
2) English Ivy (Hedera helix)
This is another cheap air filter, able to absorb toxins such as trichloroethylene, formaldehyde, benzene, and xylene before they get into your lungs.
English Ivy is also very low-maintenance and will drape beautifully down to the ground as it grows. Just make sure to trim it away from walls and other objects so it doesn’t grab on and leave marks.
3) Barberton Daisy (Gebera jamesonii)
You might know them as Gerbera daisies, but either way, they are a colorful allergen-removing, non-toxic way to brighten up your bedroom.
While these beauties can grow up to 2 feet tall, you’ll want to stake them to keep them from flopping over. Just remove wilting flowers to encourage more bud growth year-round. And the best part is that and all they need is a little sunlight and moist soil.
4) French Lavender ( Lavandula dentata)
If you’re going to grow lavender in a pot, be aware that it likes lots of warmth and sunlight.
This beautiful and fragrant plant has been found to lower heart rate, blood pressure, and stress levels, making it a perfect choice for the bedroom. It’s also used in aromatherapy and its scent is known to be relaxing.
5) Peace Lily (Spathiphyllum)
The peace lily is often identified as one of the best indoor plants for cleaning the air because of its ability to reduce allergens, neutralize gasses, and absorb benzene, trichloroethylene, and formaldehyde from the air. It can even boost a room’s humidity by up to 5%.
To top it off, their modern look goes with nearly any decor and they need relatively little water.
6) Weeping fig (Ficus benjamina)
While it might not sound familiar, the weeping fig is one of the most popular houseplants in the world.
Known more commonly as ficus, this plant is especially helpful in bedrooms that have carpets because it removes allergens from the air before they settle in. They also neutralize pollutants emitted by carpeting, such as formaldehyde and benzene.
You can grow these plants in just about any light, though it will affect their size. Many people overwater these plants when they see the leaves yellow and drop, but that’s normal as they go through their life cycles.
7) Chinese evergreen (Aglaonema)
Luckily, this is one of the easiest indoor plants to grow, since it only needs to be watered every few weeks – and it doesn’t even mind if you keep the room a little dark.
These plants also help filter contaminants like benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene, xylene, and formaldehyde from the air and are even NASA-approved for this purpose!
8) Sage (Salvia officinalis)
Just like lavender, sage is also used in aromatherapy for relaxation. While the jury’s still out on the modern scientific evidence, traditional medicine practitioners have long used it in pain relief and recommended it to guard against free radical damage, inflammation, and bacterial and viral infections.
Sage does require lots of light but is relatively easy to care for otherwise.
While these 8 plants may help you catch some zzzs, it’s important to remember to check with pediatricians and veterinarians if you have kids or pets to make sure your plants aren’t toxic if eaten.
The ASPCA has a list of toxic plants here and the National Capital Poison Center has a list for children here, though they may not be comprehensive, especially when it comes to hybrid plant species.
What houseplants do you find easiest to care for and most attractive for the bedroom?
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