Is Having Plants in Your Bedroom Good or Bad?

Houseplants can add many benefits to your bedroom. They can help bring some color into a dull-looking room, are great air purifiers, help with mediation, and reduce humidity levels. Not only that, but having plants in your bedroom can help bring you company whether you notice that or not.

However, there are some cons to having an indoor plant in your bedroom. Some cons include having more work to do, bugs, mold, and potentially throwing off your Feng Shui.

Here is the complete guide to having plants in your bedroom and what you should know!

What are the Benefits of Having Plants in the Bedroom?

There are many advantages to having a plant in your room. Here are some of the pros to keeping a plant in your bedroom!

Adds Style to your Place

Adding plants to a bedroom can make any room stand out with your style. Adding a small succulent on a nightstand can be a perfect addition to make the space feel more like you, or you can add a big Areca Palm Tree off in the corner to help make the home feel like a tropical paradise.

Whatever way you want to decorate the room, plants can be a great and inexpensive option to consider.

They Purify the Air

Plants breathe in carbon dioxide and release oxygen (and sometimes Co2 during photosynthesis) for humans. In addition to that, plants also absorb toxins through their leaves, which helps improve the air quality in your room and helps reduce respiratory problems. Having both fresh oxygen and cleaner indoor air quality are important factors for better sleep, which the bedroom is for.

Some of the best air-purifying plants in the bedroom include aloe vera, snake plant, Boston Fern, rubber plant, Chinese Evergreen, and peace lily. These are great at cleaning up the air, but they are also low-maintenance plants, perfect for beginners looking to add plants to the bedroom.

They Help with Mediation and Reduce Stress Levels

Plants are great mediation partners since they are a living thing in your home. If you are looking to meditate or reduce stress levels, you can sit near your plants in your room and think. Some plants give off a pleasant and relaxing smell, which can help lower your stress levels and help you meditate.

They Bring a Sense of Outdoors into Your Room

If you live in a city where you don’t have access to a yard or park, consider bringing a few plants into your bedroom. Having greenery in your room can get a sense of the outdoors into your home, which is essential. For example, having some English ivy hang off the wall can remind you of a park you like to visit, which can help lift your mood in an otherwise dull-looking room.

They Bring You Company

Adding a plant to your bedside table can give you company whether you notice it or not. Since a plant is a living thing, and it brings health benefits like cleaning up harmful toxins, you need to work at it to keep it healthy and alive. Having a water and sunlight routine for your plants helps keep them alive, keeping you company as you have something to care for in your home and bedroom.

Help Regulate the Humidity Levels

Since plants absorb water through their leaves, they can reduce high humidity levels in a room. Reducing the humidity levels in a room will naturally keep a room cooler, which can help you sleep better at night. Some of the best humidity-absorbing plants include English Ivy, Calathea, Spider Plants, Lucky Bamboo, and Birds Nest Fern.

What are the Cons of Having Plants in the Bedroom?

There are some cons that people should be familiar with when having houseplants in the bedroom. Here are some common cons to consider when bringing a plant into your bedroom.

They Create More Work for You

Having a plant in your bedroom means that you need to care for it. Keeping plants alive can be challenging, especially if you are a beginner and unsure of what you are doing. The extra work and stress of fixing brown leaves, mold, and plant wilting can add more work to your plate, increasing your blood pressure and stress levels if you are unfamiliar with this practice.

They Can Bring Bugs into the Bedroom

Bugs are a common problem with plants for various reasons. Having a plant with spider mites, mealybugs, and scales can attract other bugs, adding more bugs to your bedroom. If you notice bugs on your plant, you must remove them with a clean cloth and insecticidal soap.

They Can Have Mold

Mold is a common problem on plants due to overwatering and low light conditions. While a small amount of mold is not harmful to humans, you want to clean up the issue before it becomes a bigger problem. For example, having lots of mold on a plant can attract bugs, adding more pests to your home. Your bedroom, which at one point was your safe spot, is now crawling with bugs and has mold, which isn’t good.

Plants Release Carbon Dioxide During Photosynthesis

During photosynthesis, plants do release carbon dioxide through respiration. While this is not a con, it is essential to understand that plants release some Co2 in the air outside of oxygen. It should not matter for having a plant in your bedroom, but it is incorrect to assume that the plant always releases fresh oxygen next to your bed while you are sleeping.

However, it is worth noting that small amounts of carbon dioxide won’t be a problem for humans or pets. Carbon monoxide is the bigger problem, which plants help absorb, like the Chinese Evergreen or Golden Pothos.

Some Pets May Try and Eat the Plants

Some pets may try and eat the plant that is in your room. The problem is that there are toxic plants to pets, so it is important only to bring in safe plants for everyone in your home. If your pet can get to them, some plants to not bring into your bedroom include Aloe plants, Philodendrons, Bird of Paradise Flower, and Amaryllis.

Your Bedroom Conditions Might Not be Suitable

All plants need different levels of water, soil, and sunlight to survive. Your bedroom may not be the most suitable place for a plant. While some plants do well with indirect light, which can work great in a bedroom, others might need direct sunlight for a few hours. If your bedroom is unable to provide those

Feng Shui

Feng Shui experts and scholars state that the plants bring negative energy into your bedroom, explicitly contradicting your sleep. Plants have the opposite energy of rest since they are growing up while sleep is winding down. Having that extra energy near your bed can disrupt your sleep schedule.

What are Some of the Best Bedroom Plants to Have?

After reading this post, you may want to move forward with having plants in your bedroom. The best plants to have are the ones that will work best in your room environment. For example, does your bedroom have bright light, direct sunlight, or no light?

Understanding what your bedroom produces will help guide you in the best plants to get, but here is a quick guide to plants to get based on the lighting in your bedroom.

Best Bright Light Plants for a Bedroom

Peace Lily
Cast Iron Plant
Dracaena
Prayer Plant

Best Direct Sunlight Plants for a Bedroom

Croton
Basil
Barrel Cactus
Aloe Vera
Crown of Thorns Plant
Snake Plant

Best Plants for a Bedroom with No Light

Chinese Evergreen Plant
Peacock Plants
English Ivy

Conclusion: Is Having Plants in Your Bedroom Good?

In summary, there are many pros to having a plant in your bedroom. Having a plant in your bedroom looks great, can remove harmful allergens from the air, and keep you company. Having clean air, especially in your bedroom, is critical since that is where you are spending a good portion of your day daily.

However, there are cons that people should be familiar with when having plants in your bedroom. Plants can bring in pests, mold, and cause headaches for the owner if they are unsure how to care for them properly. Not only that, but some plants are toxic to pets, so it is best to keep those plants out of reach from them, so they don’t get sick.

Finally, Feng Shui doesn’t approve of having plants in your bedroom since they bring too much energy, but it ultimately comes down to your preference and what you want to do.