If you’re hoping to get a better night’s sleep, why look any further than Mother Nature? Houseplants do humans an incredible service by inhaling carbon dioxide and exhaling pure oxygen. Additionally, plants complement any decor, so even minimalist designers can enjoy their use.
Which plants help you get the best nights’ sleep ever? It depends upon the causes of your tossing and turning, but regardless of the root, houseplants can improve insomnia considerably. Here are seven plants to try even if you admit to no green thumb to help you catch more Zzz’s and awaken feeling refreshed and rejuvenated.
1. Cast Iron Plant
How much sunlight do you allow in your bedroom? If you’re like me, not much. If you work a third-shift job, for example, you might invest in heavy blackout shades in order to sleep more soundly during daylight hours.
Enter the cast iron plant. Like the name suggests, this hardy houseplant is difficult to kill, even with low lighting levels. In fact, it will not tolerate direct sunlight. The plant prefers moist soil during the summer and spring, but in the cooler months. reduce watering to avoid flooding the roots.
2. Christmas Cactus
If you love a bit of holly jolly red and green all year long, look no further than the humble Christmas cactus. Although this plant historically blooms around the celebration of Christ’s birth in the Christian tradition, it looks attractive at any time.
Christmas cacti grow well in sandy soil and require little watering. They prefer dryer soil in the fall and winter months as well, meaning you can go without watering much. Prune these plants in the spring when everything else is bursting into bloom. The plant needs only four to six hours of direct sunlight daily, so open the blinds before you leave for work and close them again when you return home for best growth.
3. Devil’s Ivy
Another plant which shuns direct sunlight like Old Scratch presumably does himself is Devil’s Ivy. According to the NASA Clean Air Study, devil’s ivy is one of the best plants for cleaning formaldehyde and other toxins out of the air. Who wants to breathe in corpse preserver while they sleep, amirite (ew, seriously)?
This plant not only requires little sun, its care instructions scream simplicity. It’s a hanging plant, so place it on the ceiling, but not too close to the window. It prefers indirect light and damp (but not wet) soil.
4. Peace Lily
Aah. Your bedroom should give you a sense of peace, and this plant offers precisely that. Plus, if you love scented candles for a romantic touch in your boudoir, you’ll love how Peace Lilly extracts benzene from the air. Candles often emit benzene when they burn, and the substance is classified as a probable carcinogen. It’s unknown how much scented candles increase your cancer risk, but why not use a plant to reduce it?
5. Spider Plant
Spider plants tolerate indirect light diffused through dark bedroom curtains, and their ability to take a beating makes them popular among novice indoor gardeners. Another hanging plant, this one makes a dramatic statement posed over an end table.
Spider plants grow by releasing spiderettes, but don’t worry — they stem from flowers, not creepy-crawlers. Too much fluoride in tap water can turn the tips brown, though, so use distilled or spring water if you lack a home purification system.
6. Aloe Vera
If you’ve suffered a sunburn ever, no doubt you headed to the store for aloe vera gel. Why buy when you can make your own leaves at home and snap one off whenever you suffer minor skin irritation? Aloe is a succulent, meaning it needs little water to thrive, so if you’re hopelessly lazy, it may prove the perfect bedside plant for you.
7. Snake Plant
Snake plants come in several varieties, most of which stand in pots on the ground, making a dramatic entryway to your room of sleep and (hopefully) sin. NASA also found the plant removes 4 out of 5 toxins in the Clean Air Study. Feel like a princess entering your private domain with a pair of snake plants at your bedroom doorway.
Sleep Better With the Help of Plants
Plants help clean toxins from the air and release pure oxygen which rejuvenates your brain and helps you sleep soundly. Even if you’re hopeless at keeping houseplants alive, the seven above will help you sleep soundly with hardly any care on your part at all!
