When should you make your bed?

“Untidy beds may keep us healthy”, said a 2005 headline from BBC news that attracted attention from many audiences, especially those who think that making their beds after waking up is such a tedious chore. It’s been a tradition brought down from generations of mothers to tell their kids to make their bed. But according to this study, an unmade bed is unappealing not only to neat-freak humans, but also for dust mites! Another research published a year after supported this proposition, adding that making your bed can potentially be making it a more comfortable living area for dust mites, as well. How this came about and settling the issue on when we should make our bed is what this article will be talking about. 

In a study conducted by Dr. Stephen Pretlove of Kingston University, it was discovered that Dermatophagoides pteronyssinus (dust mites) and Cimex lectularius Linnaeus (bed bugs) cannot survive in the warm and dry conditions of an unmade bed. When there is no moisture produced by a human presence in the bed, it is very possible that the number of dust mites and bed bugs in your sleeping space (which, in average could be 1.5 million house dust mites!) decreases in number as they get dehydrated and eventually die. 

Dust mites and bed bugs revel in the dark and damp spaces where humans frequent, like the mattresses and pillows in our beds, as they feed off of our dead skin cells. However, did you know that if your mattress is over 10 years old, experts say that it can possibly have more than 10 pounds of dead skin—a horrifying feast for the dust mites!

And after feasting, they then excrete an allergen that triggers asthma-like symptoms in people. Which is why when you make your bed in the mornings, millions of dust mites are being trapped in your bed, thus safeguarding them from withering because of the heat of sunshine and the moving air, and you are actually providing them with a home to eat, poop and reproduce.  

Despite these claims, there is also an opposing side, stating that whether you make your bed or not, this doesn’t actually affect the whole dust mite bed bug situation. Director of the Cleaning Lab at the Good Housekeeping Institute Carolyn Forte is one proponent of this belief. She remarks that the unmade bed strategy doesn’t make a big difference considering how dust mites and bed bugs can be found everywhere. Professor Andrew Wardlaw of the British Society for Allergy and Clinical Immunology also added, saying, “I find it hard to believe that simply not making your bed would have any impact on the overall humidity.” 

But Forte does recommend throwing back your bedding once you get up from sleep. This way, some moisture might disperse and more can vaporize. So, it can be said that the perfect time to make your bed is a little after you wake up. Exposing the dust mites and bed bugs to air, instead of immediately making your bed, can help to dehydrate these pests and eventually cause their demise. 

To effectively prevent further invasion from dust mites and bed bugs, it would be best to consistently practice laundering. Make sure to wash your sheets at least every other week. Don’t wait for a decade to wash your mattress if you don’t want 10-pounds-worth of dead skin cells in it and replace your pillows every two years. When you change sheets, don’t forget to vacuum your mattress.

Another way to keep dust mites and bed bugs under control is to not sleep or even lay in your bed wearing the clothes you used while outside. Philip Tierno, MD, director of Microbiology and Immunology at New York University revealed that “Bacteria and organisms can survive weeks or even months on clothes” in a 2010 ABC investigation. 

In conclusion, your bed might very well be the favorite place of unwanted guests, aka dust mites and bed bugs. The decision to make your bed or not is up to you entirely, but if you do, it’s suggested to do so several moments after you wake up so that the air can kill them (and maybe so that you can do some early morning meditation or journaling, too). If you think the dust mite and bed bug issue is getting worse, don’t hesitate to call the pest control experts.