Does making your bed trap bacteria?
John Johnson
Updated on May 24, 2026
The theory is that making your bed creates a slightly warmer, more moist environment for the hoards of microscopic bugs that live on your mattress and sheets and feast on your dead skin cells. Leaving your bed unmade exposes the sheets to more fresh air and light, which could kill more of the mites.
Does making your bed increase bacteria?
Researchers at London-based Kingston University found that the bugs thrive in warm, moist environments but die in dry surroundings. They stated that by making your bed every morning, you could be cultivating a humid habitat for the bugs.Is it unhygienic to make your bed?
In the morning, if you make your bed immediately, all of the skin cells, sweat, mites and their droppings – which can cause asthma and allergies – will be trapped underneath. However, if the bed is left unmade, the mites, dead skin, the sweat, all of it, will be exposed to fresh air and light.Why we shouldn't make our beds?
"Making your bed in the morning traps dust mites that have accumulated over night. These microscopic predators, which are less than a millimetre long, feed on the scales of human skin and thrive in moist environments.Why you should not make your bed first thing in the morning?
For a lot of people, starting the day by making the bed is part of a daily routine. However, one cleaning expert has explained that it's actually a bad idea to make the bed first thing – because it increases the likelihood of dust mites getting in the sheets.Watch Bed Bugs Get Stopped in Their Tracks | Deep Look
Should you make your bed or let it air?
'Dust mites love the warmth of your bed,' say MattressNextDay experts. 'So in the morning, you should pull back your bed covers for thirty minutes and leave them to air and cool down, before you make your bed.How often should you wash your sheets?
Most people should wash their sheets once per week. If you don't sleep on your mattress every day, you may be able to stretch this to once every two weeks or so. Some people should wash their sheets even more often than once a week.How long should you air out your bed?
Don't worry! There is no need to be alarmed, as long as we air our linens and mattress properly. That, however, can only happen if we pull back the duvet for a long enough time, leaving the bed completely unmade. Experts suggest this airing period be of at least an hour or two after getting up.What's the point in making your bed?
Carolyn Forte, the director of the Cleaning Lab at the Good Housekeeping Research Institute, recommends making your bed because it helps minimize wrinkles in your sheets and keep pillows fluffed. Being kind to your linens will help them look clean and new longer.What are the benefits of making your bed?
The Benefits of Making Your Bed
- It Encourages Better Decisions All Day Long. Some refer to making the bed as the easiest success-driven decision you can make. ...
- It Lowers Your Stress. You weren't told to keep an organized room just to impress houseguests. ...
- It Will Make You Feel Proud.
Is having a messy bed good?
If you don't make your bed in the morning, you're not messy; you could be healthier than those who do make sure their sheets are perfectly in place each morning. By leaving the sheets strewn across the mattress, it allows the 1.5 million house dust mites to die, a new study from Kingston University suggests.Should you keep sheets on guest bed?
1.)Fresh bedding is an absolute must, whenever you have guests coming to stay. After all, no one wants to sleep in a dirty bed! Just before your guests arrive, be sure to launder the sheets, including pillowcases – or swap out the old sheets for a fresh set.