Not changing your sheets each week has some manky consequences

Be honest - how often do you change your sheets?

Between dressing and undressing the bed, getting big loads of washing clean and then trying to dry it all, it's something many of us just put off. We thought it was a little lazy but mostly harmless - oh how wrong we were. A hygiene expert has warned just how disgusting it actually is. Dr Lisa Ackerley has said that leaving the same sheets on for longer than a week could actually put you at risk of some nasty infections. As well as sleeping, some people eat, work or just hang out on their beds and allow pets up on them too, she explained. "Depending upon what your bed is used for, and also how clean you are when you get in it (and indeed whether you wear nightwear), your bed can get pretty filthy and may actually be causing your body harm," she told the Daily Mail. Saliva, body fluids, skin cells and anything else that finds its way onto your sheets could cause the growth of bacteria, such as Staphylococcus aureus, which is found on wounds and in the human nose. Not changing your sheets could lead to you getting infected with things like urinary tract infections and pneumonia. Yeast infections, viruses and fungal infections are also good reasons to clean your sheets if you share a bed with someone as they're all highly contagious. If all that weren't enough, dust mites are also a problem. They eat dead skin cells and can cause allergy issues with some people. Lovely. Excuse us, we're off home to boil our bedclothes.