Recent research in the UK by YouGov and Pizuna Linens has shown that the British public cannot agree on the answer.
Almost half of single men said they don’t wash their bed sheets for up to four months at a time, with 12% admitting they wash them when they remember – which could be even longer.
Single women changed more often, 62% cleaning their bedding every two weeks, and couples claiming to do theirs every three weeks.
Why do we even need to change our bedsheets?
Dr Lindsay Browning, a chartered psychologist, neuroscientist and sleep expert, says we should be changing our sheets once a week, or every two weeks at the most. Hygiene is a big factor, and one of the reasons is sweat. If you’ve ever tried sleeping in a heatwave, you’ll know how difficult it can be. “Sweat goes into the sheets making them not only smell disgusting but also become quite clogged up,” according to Dr Browning.
But it’s not just sweat that we need to think of, our own dead skin cells which we get rid of during sleep are also a concern.”If you don’t wash your bedsheets enough, your dead skin cells are going to build up in these sheets.”
Our bedroom should be a sanctuary. Dr Browning says your bedroom should be a “sanctuary” for sleep, and “a wonderful, pleasant place where we feel happy”. If you have trouble sleeping at night, she says “if your sheets are not washed, and they look dirty and are smelly, it’s adding to that sensation that your bed isn’t somewhere that you want to be”.
“If we get into bed and feel relaxed, comfy and happy, and having that clean bedding smell helps us to feel calm and happy.”
We change our bed linen every fortnight, and we have 3 sets of bedding on rotation. I always tend to buy plain white fitted sheets, duvet covers and pillow cases, so that they’re all interchangeable. It just makes like so much easier!
My morning routine! Making my bed
Making your bed first thing in the morning helps to develop and build your ‘habit muscle’!
It takes time to build and implement a ‘habit muscle’. This is when you’re able to consistently maintain your home and workspaces as part of a maintenance routine.
If there’s one habit you should adopt to improve your ‘habit muscle’, it’s making your bed every day. That, at least, is the advice from Navy Seal Admiral William H. McCraven:
“If you make your bed every morning, you will have accomplished the first task of the day. It will give you a small sense of pride, and it will encourage you to do another…by the end of the day that one task completed will have turned into many tasks completed.”
When I get up in the morning, I shake out my duvet and pillows, fold the duvet back and open the window for a blast of fresh air, whilst I pop in the shower and great dressed.
I then finish making my bed and go in search of coffee, happy knowing that I’ve ticked off an action on my daily maintenance to-do list!
If you need any help setting up a maintenance routine, I would love to hear from you, please email me at Elizabeth@thelifestyleorganiser.com
Source: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/newsbeat-61259074
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