NATURE LIVING
03
NATURE LIVING
We can complain because rose
bushes have thorns, or rejoice
because thorn bushes have roses
There’s nothing worse than tossing and turning all
night, before being awoken by the sound of your alarm
clock just minutes after you finally manage to nod off!
These sleepless nights can take their toll on our energy,
productivity, mood and overall quality of life.
One way to ensure a better quality of sleep is to fill your
home with beautiful flowers and plants. Not only do
they look great and bring vitality and life to your living
spaces, but they can have fantastic relaxing and purifying
benefits – which in turn can promote a healthy sleeping
pattern.
With stress and anxiety causing half of all insomnia
issues, it’s a good idea to fill your home and bedroom
with a variety of plants that have a calming effect. After
all, studies clearly show that spending time in nature
reduces stress levels, so why not simply bring nature
indoors?
In addition, poor air quality from pollution, odors and
molds can impact our breathing, thus making a good
night’s sleep seem next to impossible. The good news is
there are a variety of plants that can purify the air while
you sleep – in fact NASA did a whole study on it!
We’ve compiled this list of 12 great plants to help you
sleep better, based on their calming and cleansing
effects:
a) Best air purifier plants
b) Sleeping solution
c) Help isomania
d) Plants that clean the air
22
Jasmine
This exotic plant has a gentle, soothing effect on the
body and mind. It has been shown in one study to reduce
anxiety levels, leading to a greater quality of sleep.
Not only that, but this research suggests that the positive
effects of such a high quality sleep lead you enjoy
increased alertness and productivity during the day.
With such beautiful pink or ivory blossoms, there seem
to be no downsides to adding a Jasmine bloom to your
boudoir!
Lavender
Who doesn’t love the scent of lavender? It’s also probably
the most well-known of all plants when it comes to
inducing sleep and reducing anxiety levels. Research backs
up these claims, with lavender scents shown to slow down
heart rate, lower blood pressure and levels of stress.
In one study, the smell of lavender reduced crying
in babies, sending them into a deeper sleep; while
simultaneously reducing stress in both mother and child –
something all new mothers will be happy to hear!
In women, lavender has been shown to increase light
sleep, and decrease rapid-eye movement (REM) sleep and
the amount of time to wake after first falling asleep, with
opposite effects in men.
While there are a host of lavender scented products on
the market to help you get a full night’s rest (from scented
sleep masks to lavender mattresses) why not go for the
most natural and cost effective option – a beautiful
lavender plant placed on your nightstand.