Best Bedroom Plants for Air Quality and Relaxation

Looking to turn your bedroom into a relaxing escape? Choosing the right plants can add a sense of calm and natural beauty and help you feel like you’re breathing fresher air.

However, not all bedroom plants are created equal, and the real science might surprise you.

In this guide, we’ll highlight the safest and most soothing plants for your sleep space, offer practical tips for placement and care, and share what you can genuinely expect from your leafy companions when it comes to air quality and sleep.

The Benefits of Air Purifying Plants for Sleep

Plants are nature’s air filter. As far back as the 1980s, scientists at NASA determined that plants support phytoremediation a term that means plants scrub contaminants from the air while searching for a way to improve air quality in a spacecraft.

Their research also showed that the roots and soils of houseplants could reduce airborne volatile organic compounds (VOCs). The specific toxins NASA tested include:

• Benzene: An irritant and probable carcinogen found in petroleum based indoor coatings, gasoline, inks, oils, paints, plastics, rubber, cleaning solutions, plastics, and exterior exhaust fumes emanating into buildings.
• Trichloroethylene (TCE): A potent liver carcinogen found in a wide variety of products, such as inks, paints, lacquers, varnishes, and adhesives.
• Formaldehyde: Found in nearly all indoor environments due to widespread use in products including, urea formaldehyde foam insulation (UFFI), particleboard and pressed wood products; paper products, such as grocery bags, waxed papers, facial tissues and paper towels;  common household cleaning agents; stiffeners, wrinkle resisters, water repellents, fire retardants and adhesive binders in floor coverings, carpet backings and permanent press clothes; and heating and cooking fuels, such as natural gas and kerosene, and cigarette smoke.
• Toluene: Poisoning can occur when the substance is swallowed, inhaled, or absorbed through the skin. Toluene is found in adhesives, disinfectants, rubber, printing ink, lacquers, and leather tanners.

Additional science backed benefits of houseplants in your bedroom include:

• Improved Mental Health: Horticulture therapy has been proven to increase feelings of well being for people who experience depression, anxiety, dementia, and other mental health challenges.
• Illness Recovery: Simply looking at houseplants in a hospital setting can help you heal from an illness, injury, or surgery faster.
• Stress Reduction: The Journal of Physiological Anthropology published a study that showed tending to plants in a home or bedroom made participants feel more comfortable, soothed, and natural.
• Sharper Attention Span: A small study found that real plants may improve your attention span and concentration.

Top Six Bedroom Plants for Sleep

While air purifying plants naturally remove toxins, such as benzene, trichloroethylene, and formaldehyde, from the air in your home or bedroom they also release oxygen, helping clean the air and creating a healthier sleeping environment.

Remember, some houseplants can be dangerous to pets. Be sure to thoroughly research your selections before bringing new houseplants home.

The best houseplants for sleep and air purification include:

Snake Plant (Sansevieria trifasciata)

Snake plants are a good indoor plant for beginners, with positive air purifying benefits. A 2024 study found that snake plants may help reduce mold growth by regulating humidity in sleeping environments.

Warning: Snake plants can be toxic to pets if ingested.

• Maintenance: Very low maintenance. Water every two weeks.
• Placement: Corners or bedsides.

Peace Lily (Spathiphyllum)

Peace lilies are aesthetically pleasing with their bright white, showy flowers. They filter out some harmful toxins, boost humidity levels, and suppress airborne microbes that can cause allergies.

For people with dry nasal passages, peace lilies can help remove pollutants that contribute to dryness.

Warning: Peace lilies can be toxic to children and pets.

• Maintenance: Low maintenance. Water once per week. Average room temperature. Keep the soil evenly moist and use a pot with drainage holes.
• Placement: Away from direct light and out of reach of children and pets.

Lavender (Lavandula spp.)

Commonly known as an aromatherapy and relaxation aid, lavender’s soothing fragrance can reduce the symptoms of sleep challenges such as insomnia, anxiety, depression, and migraines.

• Maintenance: Medium to high maintenance. Plant in well drained soil. Avoid overwatering during winter, when the plant isn’t actively growing.
• Placement: Near a window or on a bedside table with a grow light.

Spider Plant (Chlorophytum comosum)

Spider plants have been a popular bedroom plant for decades and feature sprawling, striped leaves flowing from a central mass. A 2014 study published in Air Qual Atmos Health found that spider plants can “take up and degrade/detoxify various pollutants in the air.” The study focused specifically on particulate matter (PM), one of the most harmful pollutants to humans. Spider plants are commonly grown in hanging baskets, and the study concluded that gravity plays a role in determining the amount of PM that accumulates on leaf blades.

Spider plants can absorb odors and toxic fumes, helping regulate the oxygen level in a space and promoting better sleep.

• Maintenance: Very low maintenance.
• Placement: High shelves or in hanging baskets.

Pothos (Epipremnum aureum)

Another plant commonly grown in hanging basket arrangements, pothos is a hardy plant that can adapt to many environments. It’s considered a top air purifying plant for sleep.

In particular, a 2005 study found that the golden pothos removed 1.5 times as much formaldehyde from the air as the peace lily. When combined, the two plants achieved 74% removal of Total Volatile Organic Compounds (TVOC) and 68% removal of odors.

Warning: Pothos can be toxic to pets.

• Maintenance: Low maintenance. Easy to grow.
• Placement: High shelves or in hanging baskets.

Flamingo Plant

This bold houseplant, with glossy green leaves and showy red, pink, or white flowers, can help eliminate carbon dioxide while providing oxygen. Commonly known as an anthurium, it also helps remove toxins such as formaldehyde, xylene, and ammonia from indoor environments.

• Maintenance: Low maintenance. Plant in acidic, well drained soil.
• Placement: Away from direct light

Care Guidelines for Bedroom Plants That Improve Air Quality

Caring for your bedroom plants doesn’t have to be complicated, but a little attention goes a long way toward keeping them healthy and ensuring they continue to support a restful environment.

By following a few simple guidelines, you can help your plants thrive, improve perceived air quality, and enjoy their calming presence night after night. 

Finding the Best Placement

One of the primary factors contributing to the performance of air purifying plants is placement. Take time to watch how natural light moves around your bedroom throughout the day. Place shorter plants that require full sun closest to windows or use grow lights to supplement. Be mindful of overcrowding, as bunching too many plants together can lead to humidity issues and mold.

Determining When to Water

Did you know that a plant will tell you when it needs water?

Bedroom plants are most commonly lost due to overwatering or underwatering. You can also determine when to water your plants by testing the soil with your fingertip. Dry soil at or below 2 inches deep means your plant probably needs watering.

The University of Maryland Extension suggests paying attention to how your plants look rather than watering plants on a schedule:

• Too Dry: Wilting and turning gray green
• Too Wet: Dropping leaves and turning yellow

Watering plants can be done effectively from the top or the bottom. For both methods, make sure that your plant containers have adequate drainage at the bottom to prevent overwatering.

An easy way to water from the top is to place small plants in a sink and let the water drain out the bottom. About 10 percent of the water you pour into a plant should run out of the drainage holes. Remember to empty excess water from drainage saucers.

Bottom watering forces roots to work harder for water while keeping water off the potting medium, reducing the risk of pests, soil crusting, and fungal disease. Place the plant into a saucer or pot of water for 15 to 60 minutes. Never let your plants sit in water for extended periods.

Dealing with Pests

Overwatering calming indoor plants can create conditions for mold growth and fungus gnats. Keep your bedroom plants healthy by regularly checking the soil, stems, leaves, and flowers for signs of infestations such as:

• Eggs
• Webbing
• Holes

Repotting Houseplants

Plants need to be repotted periodically to keep them growing healthy. Most plants need to be repotted no more than once a year, while others can wait 3 to 5 years. Refrain from using garden soil for potting or repotting.

To determine if your houseplant needs repotting, look for:

• Excessive drying in between waterings.
• Top heavy plants that lean or fall over.
• Small leaf production with little to no new growth.
• A salty crust on the soil surface.

Spruce Up Your Bedroom with Calming Indoor Plants

Bringing plants into your bedroom is more than a design choice it’s an act of self care that connects you to nature, supports your well being, and adds a personal touch to your space.

While no houseplant is a miracle cure for sleep or air quality, the daily rituals of nurturing your plants can bring peace and satisfaction to your routine. Embrace the process, experiment with different varieties and placements, and enjoy the calming presence of your leafy companions as you create a sleep sanctuary that is uniquely yours.