So, is it safe to sleep in a room full of plants at night?
Yes, it is totally safe to sleep in a room full of plants at night. The amount of carbon dioxide that plants emit at night and the amount of oxygen they consume is so small that it will have no negative effect on air quality or your health within a normal, well-ventilated room.
Because most plants emit carbon dioxide and consume oxygen at night through the process of respiration, there is a common misconception that keeping too many plants in your bedroom at night can steal all your oxygen and emit dangerous levels of carbon dioxide into your environment.
This is completely untrue, and in reality, a person or pet sleeping next to you will emit far more carbon dioxide than a few potted plants.
So, if asking the question: “plants In the bedroom – good or bad?”
We’re definitely saying plants are great for the bedroom – the more the merrier!
Indoor plants look fantastic and they can also help us feel pretty good too.
Research shows that indoor plants can help to boost your mood and lower levels of stress and anxiety.
In one study from Japan, it was found that people who kept a small plant on their desk showed reduced levels of anxiety and stress following just a one month period.
But some people get spooked when they hear that plants consume oxygen and emit carbon dioxide during the night.
During daylight hours, plants absorb carbon dioxide and release oxygen through the process of photosynthesis.
But, at night, when there is no sunlight to carry out photosynthesis, plants use oxygen plus the sugars produced during photosynthesis to produce energy for growth.
When plants respire at night, they consume oxygen and emit carbon dioxide.
And it’s the notion that we are competing with plants in our bedroom for oxygen that gets people so worried.
But in reality, the amount of carbon dioxide plants produce during the night is far less than the amount that humans and other animals produce.
Is It Dangerous To Keep Plants In Your Bedroom At Night?
Absolutely not, and here’s why…
Sleeping in an enclosed space with other people or pets will lead to much higher levels of carbon dioxide than even sleeping in a room packed full of plants.
Plants emit only around half of the carbon dioxide they absorb during their respiratory processes, so the net outcome is oxygen.
Overall, plants produce a lot more oxygen than they do carbon dioxide.
Just to put things into perspective, humans also respire; so just imagine that plants respire at the same rate as us.
So, for plants to double the carbon dioxide levels In your bedroom and mimic the effect of a second person sleeping in your room, you would need to add plants to your bedroom that would equal your own body weight.
That would be a serious amount of plants, possibly even too many to fit in your room.
And even at this rate, carbon dioxide levels from plants are not dangerous – otherwise, you could never sleep in a room with another person.
But humans are warm-blooded and produce carbon dioxide at a faster rate than plants.
So this makes plants even less of a risk to your air quality at night.
Another thing to consider is the fact that animals and plants burn energy that is stored in starch and sugar as fuel.
The difference is that animals eat plants to use as fuel wile plants use fuel that gets stored in their own bodies.
So, the amount of carbon dioxide released by a plant can’t possibly be greater than that of an animal that eats that plant.
And animals eat lots and lots of plants.
Try it out for yourself!
Next time you visit botanical gardens, look for an enclosed space that’s totally packed with plants and trees.
Stand in there and do some deep breathing.
You’ll probably find that the air quality in there feels purer than the air in your own home.
So keeping a few common indoor bedroom plants poses practically no risk to your health at night.
Which Plants Should Be Kept In The Bedroom?
If you’re still worried about plants stealing your oxygen at night, there are some houseplants that actually release oxygen during the night.
Through photosynthesis, the majority of plants take in carbon dioxide and release oxygen during daylight hours.
And at night, these plants do the opposite – they take in oxygen and release carbon dioxide through respiration.
Most plants respire at night so that they can use the sugars they produced during photosynthesis plus oxygen to produce energy for their growth.
But not all plants absorb oxygen and emit carbon dioxide at night.
Some types of plants actually do the opposite. They release oxygen and absorb carbon dioxide during the night because of their ability to carry out a different type of photosynthesis called Crassulacean Acid Metabolism (CAM).
Plants like aloe vera, snake plant, and peace lily use CAM photosynthesis which opens the stomata at night to minimize the loss of water.
During this process, carbon dioxide is taken from the air, and oxygen is released during the night time.
So if you are still a little off-put by having plants in your bedroom that consume oxygen at night, opt instead for bedroom plants that actually give oxygen and absorb carbon dioxide at night.
Related Article: Is Red Soil Good For Plants?
Should You Remove Plants From Your Bedroom At Night?
No, there is absolutely no reason to remove plants from your bedroom at night.
Even plants that absorb oxygen and emit carbon dioxide at night; they do so in such small quantities that it poses no risk to human health whatsoever.
As long as allergies aren’t an issue, fill up your bedroom with plants and enjoy it.
They’ll do you a lot more good than harm.
