Search icon

Health

15th Jan 2017

Here’s why you should never make your bed, according to science

Contrary to what your mammy says, It's for the good of your health.

Megan Roantree

Contrary to what your mammy says…

For as long as most of us can remember, mothers have been hassling their children to make their beds before school.

If you were one of those kids who never did and are now an adult who still doesn’t, you’re in luck.

Research from the Kington University London has found that there is actually a great reason to not make your bed in the mornings.

A group of specialists are advising people to leave their beds unmade to banish house dust mites which cause asthma and other allergies.

The scientists have discovered the mites cannot survive in the warm, dry conditions found in an unmade bed.

The study found that the average bed could be home to up to 1.5 million house dust mites, Dr Pretlove said. They were less than a millimetre long and could not be seen by the naked eye.

The scientists have developed a computer model to track how changes in the home can reduce numbers of dust mites in beds.

”We know that mites can only survive by taking in water from the atmosphere using small glands on the outside of their body…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.” Dr Stephen Pretlove, the author of the study said.

So the next time you’re too lazy to make your bed, tell yourself it’s for the good of your health.

Topics:

bed,study