You may make your bed every day but when was the last time you changed your sheets?
It’s Probably Time to Wash Your Sheets…Just Sayin’…
The average person spends about 1/3 of their lives in their beds, which works out to about 56 hours per week. And while you probably wouldn’t dream of wearing the same clothes for 56 hours a week without washing them, it turns out many people aren’t keeping on top of their bedroom hygiene habits.
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Mattress Advisor surveyed 1,000 Americans to find out how often they changed their sheets. The consensus? We can be pretty gross.
The average amount of time before people changed their sheets was a little over three weeks (24.4 days to be exact).
Women changed their sheets more frequently than men (19.4 days compared to 29.6 for men), with single men going nearly 45 days without changing their bedding.
And if there was sex involved? Well, you might want to go over and read the stats for yourself. But men are much more enthusiastic about clean sheets if they suspect they will be getting some action between the covers, but unfortunately aren’t quite as zealous about getting them in the laundry afterwards.
So why do you want to wash your sheets on a more frequent basis? Well, according to “What Would Happen If” on Digg, you shed about a pound and a half of dead skin annually, and can produce up to three gallons of sweat daily, not to mention the quadrillions of bacteria covering your body, all calling your lovely linen home. This can cause an allergic response even for those of us without allergies which can make for a less than stellar sleep.
Which brings us to the question, how often should you be stripping your bed for a wash? New York University microbiologist Philip Tierno recommends at least once a week to keep it at bay.
So before you climb into your bed tonight, ask yourself this question:
Do I really want to lie in that?
If the answer is no, you best do a load of laundry.
Sweet dreams.
Alanna McGinn is a Certified Sleep Consultant and Founder of Good Night Sleep Site – a Global Pediatric and Family Sleep Team. She provides free child and family sleep support through Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. She invites you to join her sleep community as she works towards Good Night Sleep Site’s mission of a healthier rested family unit. For more sleep tips, subscribe to our newsletter and visit Good Night Sleep Site.
