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Health

26th Feb 2021

Making your bed is actually bad for you, doctor claims

Making your bed is seen as a healthy and productive way to start the day, but it could be making you ill - according to Dr Karan Rajan

Alex Roberts

Good news for messy people

Making your bed is seen as a healthy, tidy and productive way to start the day, but it could actually be making you ill. At least that’s what Dr Karan Rajan has claimed.

Dr Rajan is an NHS Surgical Doctor, Lecturer and Educator. He routinely posts snippets of helpful medical advice to his TikTok and Instagram pages.

His latest clip will blow your mind – or at least cause you to think twice when getting out of bed in the morning.

In it, he claims that making your bed is worse for your health than leaving it messy. This will surely be music to the ears of lazy people everywhere.

While it is associated with having positive psychological benefits, making your bed is less than advantageous when it comes to fending off illness.

Making your bed immediately upon waking is not a healthy way to start the day, says Dr Karan Rajan. (Photo: iStock)

Sounds bizarre, but there’s plenty of logic in Dr Rajan’s explanation. He is, after all, an actual doctor – not just someone who has watched a few YouTube videos.

In a clip posted on social media, Rajan explained:

“Stop making your bed first thing in the morning.

“Making your bed first thing in the morning traps dust mites that have accumulated overnight. These microscopic predators thrive in moist environments.

“When we sleep at night, our bodies become warm and sweaty, making us prime targets for these mites to feed on.

“They’ll leave behind excretions which can give us asthma and allergy-type symptoms. So making your bed in the morning traps all this moisture and provides a home for 1.5 million of these bad boys.”

Dr Rajan offered the following advice as an alternative.

“Instead, leave your bed messy for a while. It exposes mites to air and sunlight which dehydrates them and causes them to die.”

https://www.instagram.com/p/CLwl1g9hssE/

This doesn’t mean you should leave your room a complete tip, though – just leave it a few hours before tidying.

Topics:

bed,Sleep