Wellbeing

Best Bedroom Plants for Nighttime Oxygen

Some plants release oxygen at night instead of carbon dioxide. Here is what that actually means for your bedroom, and which plants to pick.

By the Leaf & Thrive editors May 18, 2026 4 min read

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You may have read that certain plants release oxygen at night, making them ideal for the bedroom. The mechanism is real, and a few well-known houseplants do it. But the honest answer is that the amount of oxygen involved is far too small to change the air you breathe while you sleep. The better reason to keep these plants in a bedroom is simpler: they are easy, they cope with low light, and they look calm.

What “nighttime oxygen” actually means

Most plants open the pores on their leaves during the day. They take in carbon dioxide, use sunlight to make sugars, and release oxygen as a by-product. At night, with no light, that process stops.

A smaller group of plants works differently. They use a system called crassulacean acid metabolism, or CAM. To save water in hot, dry conditions, these plants keep their leaf pores shut during the heat of the day and open them at night instead. They take in carbon dioxide after dark, store it as an acid, and process it the next day. A side effect of opening their pores at night is that they release a little oxygen then too.

CAM is common in plants adapted to drought: most succulents, the snake plant, aloe vera, and many orchids and bromeliads. That drought adaptation is also why these plants are so forgiving indoors.

Why the oxygen claim does not hold up

The volume of gas a houseplant exchanges is tiny. A sleeping adult breathes through hundreds of litres of air an hour and steadily releases carbon dioxide. A potted plant on the nightstand releases a trace of oxygen by comparison. To shift the oxygen level in a closed bedroom in any measurable way, you would need a dense indoor jungle, not one or two plants.

A snake plant by the bed will not change the air you breathe, but it is still a good plant to have there.

The same caution applies to air purifying. The famous studies showing plants remove toxins were done in sealed laboratory chambers, not normal rooms with doors, windows, and airflow. It is worth keeping expectations realistic here too, which we cover in Do Houseplants Actually Purify the Air?. Believe the part of the science that holds: these plants are calming to look at and easy to live with. That is reason enough.

CAM plants worth putting in a bedroom

These are ranked by how easy they are to keep alive, which is what matters most for a room you are not always tending. In this guide: Snake plant · ZZ plant · Aloe vera · Bromeliads · Orchids.

Snake plant

The most forgiving option. It tolerates low light, irregular watering, and dry air, so a bedroom with a single curtained window suits it well. Water only when the soil is fully dry. See Snake Plant Care for the details.

ZZ plant

Nearly as tough as a snake plant and happy in low light. Its glossy leaves stay tidy without pruning, and it shrugs off weeks of neglect. A solid choice if your bedroom gets little direct sun.

Aloe vera

A CAM succulent that wants more light than the two above, so it needs a spot near a window. It is otherwise low effort and rarely needs watering. Full guidance is in Aloe Vera Care.

Bromeliads

Many are CAM plants, and they bring colour without needing strong light. They prefer a little humidity, so they suit a bedroom more than a parched living room.

Orchids

Phalaenopsis orchids, the common supermarket type, use CAM. They are not as hands-off as a snake plant, but they cope with indoor light and reward you with long-lasting flowers.

If your bedroom is genuinely dark, choose from the snake plant and ZZ plant first. For more options that survive poor light, see 7 Low-Light Houseplants That Actually Survive.

Setting up a bedroom plant well

Light. Match the plant to the room you actually have, rather than the room you wish you had. Most bedrooms get soft, indirect light, which suits a snake plant or ZZ plant. Check what your window offers with How Much Light Does Your Houseplant Actually Need?

Watering. The most common way to kill these plants is overwatering. CAM succulents store water and want their soil to dry out fully between drinks. When in doubt, wait.

Pets and children. Snake plants, aloe vera, and ZZ plants are mildly toxic to cats and dogs if chewed. If a pet sleeps in the room, check Pet-Safe Houseplants before deciding. The same caution applies to small children; houseplants and babies covers how to make a bedroom safe for young ones alongside your plants.

Choose for the light you have, not the oxygen claim

The mistake to avoid is buying one of these plants for a benefit it cannot deliver, then standing it in a corner too dark to keep it alive. Match the plant to your real light first, lean on the snake plant or ZZ plant if the room is dim, and water only once the soil has dried out fully. Judge it on how calm the room feels rather than the air you breathe, and add any further greenery slowly so you can see what each spot will actually support.

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