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Did your mom ever bother you like crazy just because you wouldn’t make your bed?
What’s the point, right? You’re just going to sleep in it again!
Of course, you do it now. Right?
Either way, it may be time to leave that bed rumpled. Now there’s a real, scientific reason not to make your bed.
Ever hear of dust mites? You know those nasty little things that live in your dust and sheets?
If you don’t know, here’s a brief breakdown:
Dust mites are microscopic insects that feed off human skin cells (like the ones in dust) and thrive in warm, damp atmospheres.
What makes beds such a great environment for them?
Well, because we’re humans, we sweat when we sleep. Like, a lot. The average person can sweat up to a liter while they sleep. Dust mites love this.
But if you don’t make your bed, it makes it harder for them to breed.
When you make your bed first thing in the morning, right after you wake up, you trap all of your drying sweat and skin cells in beneath the sheets and blankets.
But if you leave your bed unmade, you don’t trap all of that moisture. Instead you dry out all of the mites’ environment and food. The mites will dehydrated and die.
Of course, it’s impossible to get rid of mites completely. Your bed has an average of 1.5 million mites living in it at any given time. To some extent, that’s fine, since there’s no way to prevent them entirely.
But if you have an allergy to dust mites, or rather mite poop, it may be worth a shot to pull your sheets back.
And hey, even if it doesn’t work, it’s less work for you in the morning.
