Scientists now saying not to make your bed

I've always made my bed. Yes, I've been called a "neat freak" too. I don't see myself that way. I'm more "tidy" than freaky about keeping things picked up. A few years ago when Admiral William McRaven's commencement speech at the Universirty of Texas at Austin went viral, it reaffirmed what I had always believed, that making my bed was just being "tidy" but accomplishing the days' first task.

It may be all for not. Researchers at Kingston University say you not to make your bed. The reason? Dust mites. Making your bed traps dust mites that have been accumulating overnight and provides a breeding ground for allergens.

Your bed is likely home to more than 1.5 million dust mites! These microscopic bugs feed on your skin. They also thrive in moist environments. When you're asleep your body warms making your flesh a "prime rib dinner" for dust mites. They chow down and then leave behind "excretions." Yuck! These can give you asthma-like symptoms. When you make your bed after shortly hopping out you're trapping in the moisture. If you leave it unmade the mites are exposed to air and sunlight. That causes them to dry out and die.

So there you have it. Go ahead and leave that bed a mess and hit the shower. You may be doing yourself a favor. Sorry Admiral, I guess we'll have to find another task to accomplish first thing every morning. And for us "neat freaks", will have to battle that urge to pull up the covers and straighten out the pillows.

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