It's time for a sleepover - Houseplants for the bedroom & how to invite the right plants in

Good sleep is essential! Getting enough zzz’s can improve your mental health, your general wellbeing and boost workplace productivity. Otherwise, we can be plain grumpy.

So let’s hit the bedroom.

What makes a bedroom look more living and your bedside table happier? Plants! What makes a bedroom calm and air purifying? Plants! What gives a human a natural mood boost? Plants!

The act of taking care of your plants can help you unwind after a busy day. Let you step back away from the screens and disconnect. The simple gestures of touching your plant for 2mins can reduce your stress levels, no joke it's been tested. Let's bring that green energy to your room and start your journey to a better nights rest.

Which plants are best for a bedroom?

Just like the plants, you put in any other room at home: Check the light is right. Is your bedroom fresh and rather dark? Then please don’t pick a plant that requires a lot of bright light and warm temperatures. Go for our low light collection. 

If your room is bright, you may want to stick to plants that will cope with brighter light. Go for pothos, Christmas cactus, or peperomias. Remember to keep them away from the harsh suns rays, we don’t want you scorching the leaves.

You may be blessed with an all-round natural indirect light and then you have the choice of so many plants. We recommend referring back to our product descriptions for lighting conditions, all the good info is on there. Remember all plants need some form of light and air to grow or they simply will not.

It is good to note that humidity is the key to keeping your plants alive. Arrange plants in clusters/groups this helps with humidity. Or shout yourself a new humidifier, they are by far the easiest way to add humidity to your plant's environment.

What you ought to know

The best bedroom plant will also depend on you and what you are looking for in a plant. Here are some bedroom plant tips.

1. The bigger the plant the more effective it is cleaning the air (and really, the more plants you have the cleaner the air). Tick!

2. Run out of floor, windowsill and dresser space? Level up and try a hanging basket for that cascade effect. 

3. If you're a fan of black-out curtains just make sure you open them up when you're not snoozing! Sunshine is your plant's food - and they do get hangry if they don't feel the rays on their foliage. 

4. In terms of styling, place taller plants in the corners. Dracaena, Ficus lyratta, Ficus elastica and Rhapis excelsa palms are perfect for the job. Great for low light too!

Give me some options

That's all well and good but where do you start?? With so many options to choose, we thought this list might be a good place to start:

Parlour palms are very indestructible easy-care plants which make a great addition. 

Pothos and Philodendrons do well in all light conditions and will cope in humid rooms. If your room is on the colder side then Philodendron Cordatums are the ones to shop.

Spider Plant or Chlorophytum comosum removes toxins from the air, and is very very easy to care for.

Sanseveria (she's an easy-care!) Did you know that snake plants even convert carbon dioxide to oxygen during the night? (bonus!)

Peperomia Scandens - enjoy bright indirect light. The peperomia hold water in their stems and leaves during times of drought (so they can hold their own if you forget to water or go away).

Spathiphyllum - low light and super-duper easy-care bedroom buddy.

Chinese evergreens (also known as the aglaonema) are great air-purifying plants and offer a variety of colours which included pink, red, white and green splashes of colour. 

Christmas cactus - Hardy and great for the bight humid rooms.

Hoya - bright indirect light but away from hot windows.

Helpful vs harmful

Despite all the benefits plants provide, there are still some rumours that keeping plants in the bedroom could be harmful instead of helpful. Some people believe it may be harmful because plants respire as humans do, emitting carbon dioxide at night as a reverse response to their photosynthesis. But in fact, humans and pets produce more carbon dioxide than plants do and carbon dioxide in small amounts is relatively harmless. It is Co2’s cousin, carbon monoxide, that is extremely dangerous and maybe this is where the idea that a few houseplants can cause CO2 has arisen? So yep plants are good for your bedroom.

The most underrated benefits of houseplants in bedrooms is that they have a natural calming effect - making them the perfect addition to your sleep space and your children's too. Your plant mate won't increase your sleep, but they will turn your bedroom into a zen den to get you to the zzz’s faster (and stay asleep longer!)

For a healthy bedroom climate, don’t count on plants alone. Regular ventilation, fresh bed linen, a comfortable mattress and good pillows help to make you sleep better, and improve your wellbeing. Drop a few drops of lavender oil on your pillowcase and we'll see you well-rested by the next morning (plants! what can't they do?).

If you were looking for an indoor plant that filters the air at night then shop the snake plant and aloe veras. If you're looking for a plant that takes out the odours and cleans the air then go for that golden pothos you had your eye on and choose pots that compliment your linen sheets…

I think that is it. Choose pots with a hole, good drainage and a premium soil mix is best.

You don’t necessarily have to fill the room, but by adding a plant here and there you will sleep happily ever after...