Do you find that you can finally breathe deeply when you go outside? Perhaps you feel the tension in your shoulders relax when you look at a beach scene? If nature makes you feel calmer, you are not alone. It’s a common response to vibrant greenery. If you want to have this relaxed feeling in your home, you might want to consider adding a garden or a variety of houseplants to your bedroom.
Health Benefits of Plants and a Garden
Plants can make even the most uncomfortable environments, like a hospital, feel less imposing. In a study examining the effect of flowering plants on patients recovering from surgery, people with plants in their rooms reported many physical and mental benefits, including:
- Lower blood pressure and heart rate
- Lower feelings of anxiety or fatigue
- Fewer requests for pain medications
- More satisfaction with their rooms
Any room in the house can benefit from the inclusion of plants, but the bedroom especially so. Plants convert carbon dioxide that you breathe into oxygen. Carbon dioxide levels may affect sleep. Participants in a sleep study reported deeper sleep in rooms that had lower levels of carbon dioxide. You can naturally lower the carbon dioxide levels in your bedroom by scattering houseplants around it.
Houseplants to Include in Your Bedroom Design
All plants convert carbon dioxide to oxygen, so you can choose from almost any variety to reap the benefits of more oxygen. Other factors that you can consider is whether the plant flowers, how much water it needs and if your pets are likely to attempt to chew on it. If you live in a busy house with kids and pets, you can look at air plants, which can be suspended from the ceiling to keep them out of the way. Whatever your plant choices, they will help to freshen your air at night.
While all plants will provide free oxygen to you, some have additional benefits. NASA tested which houseplants can filter common indoor air pollutants from the air. They found that many plants can filter multiple pollutants. The Florist’s Chrysanthemum and Peace Lily removed five different pollutants from the air. Other options include the snake plant, Devil’s Ivy and the Chinese Evergreen.
More Natural Decor Options
Plants are an easy way to bring the outside indoors, but there are other natural design elements that you can include in your bedroom.
Mattress manufacturers have started to incorporate more natural elements, such as green tea-infused foams and natural latex support cores. These might not be a visible reminder of nature, but the lack of chemical smells and off-gassing from natural materials is appealing.
Wooden furniture and stone accents can also be incorporated into a bedroom. A wooden headboard is a simple way to add more natural accents. A more unusual accessory is a small stone fountain. It is also useful because it provides white noise as you sleep.
Incorporating natural elements and houseplants in your bedroom design can help you relax and sleep deeper.