A great reason not to make your bed this morning

There are two kinds of people in this world – those who like to make the bed in the morning and those who… well, have better stuff to do.

But look more closely at those lazy non makers of the bed and you may well find they are healthier and their home is, in fact, cleaner (if not tidier).

A Kingston University study has suggested that making your bed up neat as a pin provides the perfect living and breeding grounds for dust mites. These bugs, which are less than a millimetre long, feed on the skin cells and moisture we shed throughout the night.

The bugs produce allergens, which we then inhale as we sleep, and these excretions can exacerbate allergies and asthma.

It’s believed your bed could be home to as many as 1.5 million house dust mites.

By leaving the covers askew, however, your bed is exposed to light and air, dries out and becomes inhospitable to the legions of 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,” Dr. Stephen Pretlove of Kingston University’s School of Architecture said.

“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,” he added.

So if you’re not one to make the bed (or have a partner unwilling to do so), toss your bed covers aside this morning and leave them pulled back, knowing your bed will be a little less crowded when you hop back in it this evening, and you will breathe easier as a result.

Are you a bed-maker? Will this make you change your ways?