Debunking Myths: Do Plants Really Steal Our Oxygen at Night?

 A well-established notion that has been handed down through generations is the idea that plants rob us of our oxygen while we sleep, making their presence undesirable at night. This belief has its roots in the survival mechanisms of plants: photosynthesis and respiration. During the day, plants partake in photosynthesis, utilizing carbon, water, and minerals to create their food and, in the process, produce the oxygen we breathe. At night, they undergo respiration in the mitochondria, transforming the carbohydrates synthesized during photosynthesis back into inorganic molecules: water and carbon dioxide. In essence, plants consume oxygen and emit carbon dioxide at night, which has sparked debates about their potential harm to humans during sleep.

This topic was a subject of interest for NASA researchers in the 1980s. They conducted an experiment in a greenhouse, where the carbon dioxide concentration would be significantly higher than in a room with a few potted plants. The results were clear: there was no oxygen shortage or respiratory issues for any participant who spent the night in the greenhouse.

The oxygen intake of a plant is substantially less than our oxygen needs. To put it in perspective, an average person consumes about 2-3% of a room's oxygen, while a plant requires less than 0.1%. Thus, sharing a room with another human poses a greater risk than sharing it with a plant.

The second myth, regarding the elimination of volatile organic compounds, can be traced back to chemical engineer Bill Wolverton. In the late 1960s, while overseeing a U.S. Army biological warfare experimental center in Florida, Wolverton noticed a specific plant type capable of removing traces of the Agent Orange he was working with. This sparked a series of NASA studies aimed at determining whether plants can purify air in enclosed environments like space stations. 

In the late 1980s, the famous Clean Air Study concluded that certain plants can absorb organic pollutants such as benzene, formaldehyde, and trichloroethylene, in addition to absorbing carbon dioxide and releasing oxygen. However, the study also revealed that the number of plants required to influence air quality in a small office would range between 100 and 1,000. So, while plants do technically remove toxins from the air, their capacity to do so is minimal.