Restful sleep is important for our health as sleep helps the body regenerate as well as process all events and efforts of the day. It plays an important role in various aspects of brain function including cognition, concentration, productivity and performance [1]. All of these functions are negatively affected by sleep deprivation.

Findings from a study investigating medical internes showed that interns who follow a traditional schedule of working more than 24 hours made up to 36% more medical errors than interns who followed a schedule that allowed for more sleep [2].

On the other hand, good sleep has been shown to increase problem-solving skills [3] and improve memory performance in children and adults [4].

The air quality in your bedroom has an enormous impact on whether you can regenerate fully while sleeping or whether your body is running low on energy. If there is not supply of fresh air to your room for a long period of time during the night the air's CO2 content will increase due to the emission of CO2 when breathing. The higher the CO2 content in the air the more CO2 we will breathe in again although it is actually a waste product of our metabolism.

This puts the organism under stress and has a detrimental effect on performance. It is therefore important to ventilate adequately before going to bed - even when it is cold outside.

Two other factors influencing indoor air quality are pollutants generated in the room and air pollution from the environment. Volatile organic compounds such as formaldehyde, toluene and benzene, which to a certain extent can be harmful to health, are released into the air every day. Correlations between indoor air pollution, allergies and other chronic diseases are known. [5].

For example, formaldehyde can be secreted from wood products, wall coverings, rubber, paint, adhesives, cosmetics, etc. [6]. It has already been proven that the removal of formaldehyde [7] and other volatile organic compounds [8] is due to the biological effects of plants and microorganisms. During normal gas exchange plants ingest air pollutants through their stomata and can break down various pollutants.

Plants that are well suited as air purifiers are, for example: aloe vera, single leaf, ivy or dieffenbachia.