Amy Lockwood
We don't know about you, but we’ve always thought that making your bed in the morning is one of the best habits you can adopt if you want a tidy home.
After all, a freshly made bed starts the day off on the right foot and makes your bedroom a restful place to return to at the end of a long day, right?
Well, that may be true, however, mattress experts are now suggesting that this supposedly productive task might not actually be the best thing to do when you first wake up. Not if you've invested in the best mattress your budget allows and you want to keep it in tip top condition, anyway.
Why? The reason lies in the fact that as we sleep, we all lose lots of fluid (e.g sweat). Around 285ml or half a pint per night, according to The Sleep Charity. Yuck. No wonder it's important to invest in one of the best mattress protectors to absorb that moisture!
This means that when we pull our duvet up to our meet our pillows in the morning, we’re essentially locking in all of that moisture. And there are a few reasons that may not be the right move.
Why you shouldn't make your bed every morning
Martin Gill, mattress expert and managing director of furniture and bedding retailer And So To Bed, explains that, 'By making our beds in the morning we are trapping in that moisture and not allowing it to evaporate, which could lead to issues within the mattress fibres, especially in the warmer months when we sweat more'.
'If the moisture isn’t given the opportunity to evaporate' he continues, 'it can breed bacteria and fungi. This means that not only will your mattress not last as long, but it also puts the mattress owner at risk of being exposed to staphylococcus, enterococcus and norovirus, all of which have been discovered to be in dirty mattresses'. Eek.
Fabio Perrotta, director of buying at mattress retailer Dreams agrees, saying that to keep your mattress in optimum condition you should 'Allow your mattress to air out daily by leaving the bedding pulled back for a while after you get up. This is to encourage any moisture to dispense and allows the fillings and layers to rise back up'.
As such, leaving your duvet and any bed linen pulled right back to the bottom of the bed is a much better option. This allows your sheets and mattress to breathe after a long night of sleep.
If you can’t bear the thought of leaving your bed unmade for too long though, the experts advise that after a little while, you can safely make it again.
Gill explains, 'After a few hours of being aired out it should be okay to make your bed. In the summer months we will lose more fluid, so airing out may require a little longer than in cooler months. Make sure you open the window too, to allow for air circulation, as this will speed along the process'.
In order to keep your mattress in good condition for as long as possible, mattress experts also advise regularly cleaning your mattress. Our guide to how to clean a mattress has all you need to know.
Washing your bed linen every two weeks will also help to keep your bed fresh and clean, and ultimately, help you to sleep better.
And, whilst you're at it, you should ensure that you're regularly rotating or turning your mattress according to the manufacturer's recommendations, too.
Our guides to should you flip your mattress and how often you should rotate your mattress have more advice on this mattress maintenance essential. This way, whether you have a hybrid, open coil, pocket spring, or memory foam mattress, you'll be doing everything you can to keep it in good shape.
In fact, that TLC might even mean you can add a couple of extra years onto how often experts recommend you should change your mattress. Always good news for the purse strings.
We don't know about you, but we'll certainly be thinking twice before making our beds first thing tomorrow.
