Here’s why you shouldn’t make your bed, according to science

Good news: You might actually be better off if you skip making your bed every morning. The bad news? You’re not going to want to know why.

You’ve probably heard of dust mites before, right? They’re tiny little insects that feed off human skin. Pretty gross. Turns out, there are roughly 1.5 million of the little guys living between your sheets right now just waiting for you to take a snooze. Guys. 1.5 million. This is no joke.

In order to survive, the mites need somewhere warm and damp to hang out. So, when you sweat on your sheets while you’re sleeping and then throw your comforter over it in the morning, you’re actually creating the perfect spot for dust mites to thrive. Whoops.

Researchers from Kensington University suggest that rather than make your bed right when you wake up, you should leave it unmade for a while and give your sheets the opportunity to dry off.  The 2005 study reports that while it’s better to leave it permanently unmade (hear that Mom?), you can make a huge difference by just waiting to make you bed until you get home from work or school. It won’t complete save you from the whole dust mite situation, but it will make things a bit better.

This isn’t the first time science has proved our moms wrong. A few months ago, we found out that sleeping in is actually GOOD for you. We also found that staying up all night isn’t as bad as parents make it seem —in fact, a study from the University of Madrid says that night owls are more intelligent. Bottom line? Basically everything we know about beds and sleep is wrong.

And now if you will excuse me, I’m going to go unmake my bed.

(Image via iStock)