This Mother’s Day could be the perfect time to start bringing a bit of nature into your Mum’s bedroom decor. Giving your Mum (or any special person in your life) flowers with lovely lingering scents can change the fragrance of her bedroom, but did you know that if you give her some plants instead, they can help purify and clean the air while she sleeps?
NASA famously released a Clean Air Study on plants that can absorb harmful chemicals and pollutants, as well as purify the air in your home and since we spend 33 years of our lifetime in bed (or the equivalent of 12,045 days), sleeping and relaxing in a healthy environment if clean, purified air has never been more important.
We’ve compiled a list of the top ten air-purifying plants for the bedroom, so if your Mum loves her indoor plants, we can help you find something that doesn’t just look great, but also helps to purify and clean the air while she sleeps.
How do Air Purifying plants help?
Indoor plants are an all-natural way to remove toxic agents such as benzene, trichloroethylene, and formaldehyde from air in any room of the house, including the bedroom. In addition to looking great, the best plants for bedroom air-purifying tend to be easy to care for.
It’s said that air-purifying plants can help absorb and trap toxins while releasing oxygen to generate cleaner air, making for a more healthy and fresh sleeping environment throughout the bedroom. Most indoor plants are relatively easy to take care of and are adaptable to common indoor elements like low light and indoor temperatures.
Whether you have bright light in your bedroom or prefer to sleep in a darkened room, the following are the best bedroom plants with varying condition requirements that require little care.
Lavender (Lavandula)
Although lavender isn’t commonly thought of as a houseplant, it may thrive in the appropriate conditions indoors. Give it a few hours of bright, direct sunshine every day, preferably in a south-facing window, and water it when the soil is somewhat dry. However, if you overwater lavender, it will rot.
Peace Lily (Spathiphyllum)
This low maintenance plant is great for the bedroom because it thrives, even when you forget to water it. The humble Peace Lily also helps filter the indoor air & increases the levels of humidity that help you breathe better and ultimately sleep better. It looks lovely in a bedroom with shiny leaves and big white bracts but also can survive without sunlight.
Snake Plant (Sanseveria trifasciata
Also known as Mother In-Law’s Tongue, the Snake Plant is great for night time oxygen production – so perfect for the bedroom. While it’s oxygen-giving, this slick indoor plant also purifies toxins from your household air including; benzene, formaldehyde, trichloroethylene, xylene and toluene.
Aloe Vera (Aloe barbadensis mille)
This was one of Nasa’s top picks for air-purifying plants in your bedroom because it helps rid the air of formaldehyde and benzene found in varnishes, floor finishes and detergents. Plus this succulent is known for its healing abilities with the sap being applied to burns. It loves a sunny spot but doesn’t require too much watering – just not one for the bedside table if you want to avoid being pricked by its leaves.
Rubber Plant (Ficus elastica)
The Ficus Robusta or Rubber Plant is a popular house plant because it requires minimal care to keep it alive – under watering is better than over watering in its case. In NASA’s study it found the Rubber Plant is the perfect addition to the bedroom because its large shiny leaves absorb airborne chemicals and break them down. That includes carbon dioxide, which the Rubber Plant converts to breathable oxygen as well as eliminating bacteria and mould spores in the air. This plant can reach around 2.4m so make sure there’s room for it in your bedroom.
Boston Fern (Nephrolepsis exaltata)
Add some soft elegance to your bedroom with a Boston Fern. They look beautiful cascading over shelves or in hanging baskets. Looks and they’re air-purifying, known to remove more harmful formaldehyde than any other plant. Keep them away from cats, they like to nibble the ends & you’ll need to ensure they’re watered regularly and kept in a cool place with a high level of humidity and away from direct sunlight.
Areca Palm (Chrysalidocarpus lutescens)
A stunning palm to decorate your bedroom but behind the scenes this plant helps remove dangerous chemicals in the air. It’s a plant biologically engineered to absorb carbon dioxide and release oxygen but also purifies your sleeping environment by removing dangerous chemicals such as formaldehyde, xylene and toluene.
Gerbera Daisy (Transvaal daisy)
Definitely the prettiest plant for your bedroom because it flowers, however it does so much more. Pop one by your bed because a Gerbera Daisy is known for its ability to produce high oxygen levels at night while removing harmful chemicals including trichloroethylene & benzene.
Spider Plant (Chlorophytum comosum)
These plants are commonly seen in Aussie homes for good reason. Once again, they are perfect for green finger newbies who tentatively want to bring greenery into their homes but aren’t sure how to take care of them. The Spider Plant is a simple bedroom decoration but it packs a punch in the fight against toxins. It’s one of the few house plants that is non-toxic to animals & helps eliminate toxins like carbon monoxide and xylene – a solvent used in the printing and rubber industries.
Chinese Evergreen (Aglaonema)
One of our most common household plants is actually one of the best to pull harmful toxins like formaldehyde & benzene from the air in your home, while admitting high levels of oxygen. The Chinese have known this for years, where it’s very popular – hence the plant’s name. It’s great in full shade and only needs to be watered occasionally.
English Ivy
Another popular plant here in Australia both indoors and outdoors. Inside your home, and specifically in your bedroom US researchhas shown that it can remove 78% of airborne mould in just 12 hours. This is good news for anyone suffering from allergies.
Other ways to help Mum sleep this Mother’s Day
Now that you know the best plants to help purify the air in any bedroom, here’s some tips that will help Mum get good sleep this Mother’s Day (because isn’t that all Mums need – is some more sleep!)!)
Limit Mum’s caffeine: If she’s anything like me (a SleepMaker marketing team member with four kids), she’ll love a coffee with breakfast in bed this Mother’s Day, but perhaps think about trying to keep Mum caffeine free after noon.
Have Mother’s Day dinner before 8pm: If possible, try to allow at least two hours between Mother’s Day dinner and Mum’s bed time.
Run Mum a warm bath: Many people find that winding down in a warm bath or shower can help relax their mind and body before bed. This Mother’s Day is a great opportunity for you to treat Mum to a luxurious warm bath. You may may want to make it special by giving her some new scented bath crystals and body lotion.
Get Mum a new bed: At SleepMaker we recently survey the nation to take a deep dive into Australia’s sleeping habits. What we learnt was that 20% of people have trouble sleeping because their mattress is uncomfortable. If you really want to spoil Mum this Mother’s Day, maybe it’s time to get her a new mattress. Finding the right bed to match her individual sleep needs can help improve the quality of her sleep. For example, SleepMaker’s Cocoon range of mattresses have our Sensorzone® Sleep System. Each spring sits separately within a Dreamfoam® core and responds independently to movement, virtually removing partner disturbance – meaning Mum will sleep better for longer. If you’re planning a shopping spree check out our list of retailers to find a store close to you.
Get a Better Night’s Sleep with SleepMaker
SleepMaker has developed a wide range of advanced technologies to create excellent mattresses in Australia to ensure the most comfortable and supportive sleep possible. You can view our range of mattresses here or take our Sleep Selector Quiz to find the right mattress for your mum this Mother’s Day.
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