Back in 2014, U.S. Navy Admiral William H. McRaven went viral for his commencement speech at the University of Texas at Austin. During the speech, McRaven said, “If you want to change the world, start off by making your bed.” The rationale is that you accomplish one task, which inspires you to complete additional tasks while also maintaining an appreciation for the little things in life (like coming home to a made bed). But while McRaven’s suggestion may resonate with forward-thinkers, one doctor says your bed is better left unmade, at least for a little while.
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In a recent video posted on Instagram, anesthesiologistMyro Figura, MD, advised people against making the bed in the morning, warning that “your health depends on it.” According to Figura, making your bed too soon may create a haven for dust mites.
“You see, whether you have a partner or not, you are never sleeping alone,” he says, then flashing to an image of dust mites.
“There’s over 10 million of them on an average mattress,” Figura cautions. “If you have a two-year-old pillow, 10 percent of its weight are dust mites and their poo.”
You’re probably already grossed out, but it only gets worse from there.
“[Dust mites] produce allergens that can trigger asthma and cause you to feel all stuffed up,” Figura notes.
But how does making your bed play into this? According to Figura, the mites feed on the moisture from your sweat while you sleep.
“So, when you make your bed, you’re trapping all of that moisture in, and the dust mites—they’re having a party, they’re procreating and growing,” Figura says.
So, instead of hopping out of bed and tidying up immediately, Figura says it’s best to wait an hour or two before fluffing your pillows and smoothing the comforter.
“Leaving your be unmade for an hour or two allows that moisture to dry up and drastically reduces the number of dust mites that can survive in there, and this is according to science,” he says.
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The science Figura is referring to might be a 2006 study published in Experimental & Applied Acarology, which suggested that leaving your bed unmade could help keep humidity low enough to fight dust mites.
“We know that mites can only survive by taking in water from the atmosphere using small glands on the outside of their body,” study author Stephen Pretlove, PhD, said when the findings were published, per AARP. “Something as simple as leaving a bed unmade during the day can remove moisture from the sheets and mattress so the mites will dehydrate and eventually die.”
However, as The New York Timesreported in 2016, researchers didn’t make scientific comparisons of made and unmade beds, instead using a computer model to predict how dust mites would be affected by different temperatures and humidity levels.
Regardless of whether you believe your bedmaking habits could ward off dust mites, keeping your bed clean is important. Figura recommends washing bed sheets and pillowcases at least every two weeks. Weekly is preferable, he says.