Keeping plants in your sleeping area isn’t just a great idea for aesthetic reasons. In fact, bedroom plants can actually help you sleep better! Some are known to purify the air, while others offer delightful aromatherapy benefits. Read on to discover 10 houseplants to add to your bedroom this weekend!
Bedroom Plants can Help Poor Sleepers
I was told I was a really deep sleeper when I was younger. Well, boy do I wish I could have those time back. I have a terrible time getting to sleep, and some nights I wake up multiple times. To make matters worse, the dust in my new apartment is really bothersome. It’s an older building with ancient central air, so it probably adds more dust than it takes away.
On the bright side, I’m really happy that I finally have a “real” bedroom with a window and everything! It’s a small window, however, so I didn’t think that I’d be able to cultivate any plants in there. Well, it turns out that there are actually a number of bedroom plants that thrive in low light. Furthermore, they can help to purify the air. Bonus!
During photosynthesis, plants convert carbon monoxide into fresh oxygen. While all plants absorb carbon monoxide and other chemicals from the air, some have been proven to be more effective than others.
There are also a number of plants that produce scents that have been proven to be really calming, and can relax you. If you’re having trouble sleeping, the following plants may help you out. hey perform a number of different tasks and can survive in various environments. No matter what your room is like, you should be able to find at least one helpful plant to suit your needs.
1. Areca Palm
Arecas like a tight pot anyway, so if you need to keep its size in check, cramped roots won’t be a problem. These palms are fairly easy to care for, but they require a good deal of indirect sunlight. Direct light will burn them.
2. Peace Lily
Looking for an air purifier, but you don’t have a green thumb? Well look no further. The Peace Lily is an excellent candidate as its adaptability makes it easy to maintain. Just keep in mind that even though it isn’t a true member of the lily family, it’s still poisonous to cats, dogs, and birds. As a result, devoted pet owners should absolutely steer clear of this one.
Peace Lilies can reach 3 to 4 feet in height, so they can make great statement piece as well. Additionally, the larger the plant, the greater the impact it will have on its environment.
3. Spider Plant
Spider plants are other easy keepers for those lacking a green thumb, or for those living in less-than-ideal circumstances for most plants. These guys remove carbon monoxide among other impurities from the air, and therefore make a great addition to the household.
The “babies”—which look like baby versions of the mother plant hanging down around the central plant—are easily transplanted if you wish to add to your collection. Spider plants can take quite a bit of neglect and actually prefer to dry out between watering, so forgetful types will do really well with one of these guys.
4. Dracaena Plant
These plants are really great in that they’ll let you know if you have over-watered them with drooping, yellowed leaves. If this happens, just give them a good break to let the soil dry out.
5. Boston Fern
Photo by J. Kelly Brito from Pexels
Ferns are known to be good air purifiers, and the Boston fern is no exception. In fact, it’s exceptional at removing formaldehyde from the environment. One of the key factors to caring for a Boston fern is making sure that it’s in the appropriate environment.
These bedroom plants like cool and humid conditions with indirect light. For most people, this makes their bathroom a great home base. Ferns are also good at communicating with you when they’re unhappy, as they will yellow when they get too dry. s long as you check the soil daily and give them a spritz of water when they need it, you’ll have no trouble growing one of these beauties.
6. Snake Plant (Mother-in-Law’s Tongue)
If that doesn’t make it the perfect candidate for cleaning the air in your bedroom, well then I don’t what is. I find its shape also lends itself to fitting into smaller spaces than some bushier types. As a result, this works well if you don’t have a lot of space to spare in your bedroom.
7. Aloe
On the opposite spectrum to ferns, growing Aloe plants requires a hot, dry environment. Any windowsill will do quite nicely for this succulent, although you need to make sure that the plant doesn’t sit in hot, direct sunlight. This will dry out your aloe too much.
You should give your plant a really good drink about every 3 weeks. Besides being a competent air purifier, aloe is specifically known to clean Benzene (which is found in paint and cleaning chemicals) from the air. It’s also great to have around for treating minor cuts and burns using the gel found inside its fleshy leaves.
8. Jasmine
Jasmine has a strong scent, and while not everyone likes it, a study posted in Journal of Biological Chemistry noted that its scent can be as calming as valium. If you’re having trouble sleeping, but don’t want to resort to sleeping pills, this might be just what you need!
Not all Jasmine is fragrant, but the variety known as Jasminum polyanthum is commonly used indoors, and produces a sweet fragrance that’s especially potent at night. Keep this plant in a sunny, south-facing window for adequate sunlight. As a point of interest, they like to spend the summer and fall outdoors. The hot summer and cool autumn temperatures help to set up their fragrant Winter blooms.
9. Lavender
Famous for its use in aromatherapy, lavender might be just what you need to get a little shut eye when you’re feeling extra stressed. While it’s not a traditional houseplant, you should be able to enjoy its soothing scent if you can satisfy this herb’s near insatiable hunger for light. Generally this requires a sunny, south-facing window.
Make sure when watering that the soil doesn’t become waterlogged. Next to a lack of sunlight, that’s the number one reason that lavender doesn’t thrive as an indoor plant. French Lavender (Lavandula dentate), while not as fragrant as some of its sister varieties, is a smaller variety and a good choice among bedroom plants.
10. Philodendron
This is a classic choice for the home that’s quite easy to care for. It happily adapts to almost any indoor environment, and while it would like a good amount of sun, it doesn’t want to be in direct sunlight.
You won’t have much trouble knowing whether it’s happy, as the leaves will yellow if there’s too much sun. Alternatively, it’ll become “leggy”—with long spaces between leave—if there isn’t enough light. With regard to water, droopy leaves will let you know that it’s either waterlogged, or too dry. Inserting a finger into the soil will quickly let you know what the problem is.
Homeowners with animals and small children should keep their Philodendron out of reach: the leaves are incredily toxic if ingested.
It should be noted that while one plant can’t clean the air of an entire home, it can help to rid toxins from the air within a hundred foot circumference. With this list of bedroom plants, you should be able to find a couple that suit the environment in your home, and as we all know, every little bit helps! So, get out there, get some new green friends, and sweet dreams.
