With the impact of the pandemic, everyone’s bedroom has seen more use. Whether that’s as a personal sanctuary, a new office, or just somewhere to wind down and relax, the addition of a house plant can be a great way to furnish your room.

House plants have always been popular for adding splashes of colour to your room and beautifying your house, but are you aware of all the health benefits your potted friend has for you? 

Today we’re going to take you through 5 reasons you should have a house plant in your bedroom, buckets of scientific research to back it up, and the 5 best bedroom plants. Read on for the best reasons to have a house plant in your bedroom.

1. Reduces stress levels:

Everyone feels stressed from time to time, whether it’s from difficult days at work, tough assignments at school, or disagreements with friends and family. Stress can have a real impact on our physical and mental well-being, and it’s important to make sure that you have space where you can relax and unwind. Your bedroom can be a perfect place for this.

That’s why it’s great news that house plants are brilliant at reducing your stress levels. A US study found that the presence of a house plant can significantly reduce how stressed you feel, making them a great way to create a stress free environment in your bedroom. Even just looking at a house plant for 3 minutes can reduce how stressed you feel as a Japanese Study found. 

If you are looking for a soothing leafy friend we have 3 recommendations for you – The Peace Lily, a Snake plant, or Aloe Vera plant. All three thrive in bright light conditions, perfect for a bedroom window or on a desk

2. Therapeutic effect: 

Sometimes taking care of something or someone else can have a positive effect on how you feel mentally. Caring for a plant does exactly that! Nurturing a plant can make you feel happier and more calm, forming the basis of horticulture therapy. A study in 2013 observed that looking after a plant improved empathy in participants and a 2017 study found it had a significant effect on mental wellbeing. 

Adding a house plant to your bedroom would give you a great opportunity to tend to your own green friend helping them grow and keep you feeling good. We recommend easy to grow plants such as the Spider plant, Dracaena fragrans, or the Peace Lily. All are easy to care for needing only weekly watering and bright sunlight- check out our care guide if your thumbs are newly green.

3. Boosts productivity and creativity:

For a number of people the bedroom can be a place of work – whether that’s on college or university deadlines, or late night tasks brought back from the office. Working from our bedrooms can be hard with lots of potential distractions, so it’s great then that adding a house plant to your bedroom can boost your productivity and even your creativity. A US study found just the presence of a houseplant in your room or workspace can leave you feeling more creative, attentive and work more productively.

For a desk buddy we would suggest house plants that do well in bright indirect sunlight such as the Monstera deliciosa, Philodendron, or the Zamioculcas Zamiifolia (make sure to keep the Zamioculcas out of reach though as the leaves are toxic). 

4. Improves indoor air quality:

One of the most well known benefits of owning house plants is their superb ability to improve the air quality within your home. Nasa’s 1988 study documented plants effectiveness of removing harmful chemicals and improving the air quality within a room. Through their leaves and roots house plants can absorb gases, their soil too neutralises compounds such as benzene and formaldehyde – making a bedroom plant a great addition to your room and it’s air quality. 

To find out more about how plants improve air quality visit our article here.

Our favourite air purifying house plants are the Spider plant, the Peace Lily ( a bit of an all-star on our list), and the Boston Fern, for their ability to remove a range of chemicals and a high rating of air quality improvement.

5. Help Reduce allergies:

Our 5th, and final, reason to have a bedroom plant is their ability to help reduce your allergies. A 2011 Journal explained how plants are good at absorbing particles and pollutants within the rooms they live in. This means they can have a big effect on reducing the number of particles and dust in our households. A number of allergies are triggered by an abundance of dust or particles and it can be worse within our houses, due to the improvements in houses’ ability to insulate. So, adding a health-boosting flora or two to your bedroom can go a long way in reducing the number of particles sat in your room.

We would put forward the Philodendron, Kentia Palm, and Snake plant as our picks for good bedroom plants to reduce allergies, they all are good air purifiers and make good additions to a bedside unit or desk.

Now we know how beneficial a bedroom plant can be, it would be useful to know which ones are the best to have. Whether it’s because they’re easy to care for, or just add stunning colour to your room, here our top 5 bedroom plants:

1. Peace Lily

Our all-star for health benefits, the beautiful dark green foliage and white flowers have made the Peace Lily one of the most popular house plants. Happy in a variety of light conditions they can sit in most spaces of your bedroom, just make sure to keep them out of direct sunlight and water weekly.

2. Philodendron 

A great plant for beginners the Philodendron is happy anywhere with bright filtered light and moist soil. The paddle shaped leaves are great at filling space perfect for a bookshelf or chest of drawers. 

3. Spider plant

For those of you not sure where you could fit a house plant in a Spider plant could be the best choice. Happy anywhere there’s indirect sunlight, the spider plant can fit in anywhere in your bedroom, even in a hanging basket if you’re feeling creative.

4. Snake plant

The Snake plant is the top house plant for beginners. It only needs watering every two weeks and is happy even in shade making it an easy plant to look after, making it an excellent pick if this is your first house plant. 

5. Dracaena fragrans

A wonderful way to add vibrant colour, the dark green sword-like leaves of the Dracaena fragrans bring distinctive foliage to your bedroom, with the added benefit of being low maintenance. Just place it in bright filtered light and mist the leaves regularly.

So, now you have 5 reasons you should have a bedroom plant, and 5 of the best ones to have. Whether it’s to reduce stress or improve your productivity, bringing a house plant into your bedroom could be highly beneficial. There’s a wide range of houseplants to choose from, find them and our range here.

For more info on all things house plants check out our blog.