A mattress expert has explained exactly how often you should be washing your bed sheets - and what will happen if you fail to do so.
If you don't wash your bedding every week, it could reportedly lead to acne breakouts and a build-up of dead skin and dust mites.
Sweat and oils accumulate and can clog our pores, leading to acne breakouts across our body and face.
The advice comes from a team of mattress experts who share the five things that can happen when we don't wash our bedding often enough.
The mattress experts from WinstonsBeds have shared the unpleasant truths after a YouGov poll reported that only 28% of Britons change their bedding frequently.
Rebecca Swain, mattress expert from WinstonsBeds said: “If you’re getting the optimum eight hours of sleep a night, that means you’re in your bed for a total of 56 hours in just one week.
“Spending all of this time in the bed leads to a build-up of sweat, dead skin cells and other bacteria which is why it’s important to wash your bedding once a week if possible.
“It’s shocking to hear how little people wash their sheets which is why we’ve shared five unpleasant things that can happen if you sleep in the same bedding for too long.
“Not only can you ruin your bed but this may also make you more prone to breakouts and acne over your body as well as triggering your allergies.”
@uktoday_ How often you should change your bedsheets explained ( from a mattress expert) #uknews #bedding #bedsheets #uknewsheadlines ♬ original sound - UKToday 🇬🇧 Newsquest
5 things that happen when you don’t wash your bedding
In case you need some incentive to get a wash on, here are five reasons you should.
Buildup of dead skin cells and dust mites
When you don’t wash your bedding often, dead skin cells from your body begin to build up on the sheets.
Dust mites feed off of dead skin cells making this the perfect environment for them to thrive in.
@uktoday_ Is napping during the day good for you? A GP explains #uknews #napping #naps #sleeping #uknewsheadlines ♬ original sound - UKToday 🇬🇧 Newsquest
Breakouts
The accumulation of skin, sweat, and oils are a breeding ground for bacteria which can clog the pores on your body and face leading to more breakouts and acne.
This can also irritate skin conditions like eczema.
Triggers Allergies
Dust mites and other bacteria can trigger those with allergies and asthma.
Particularly sensitive people may find that breathing in these allergens leads to coughing and congestion the next day.
Recommended reading
- Exactly how often you should change your toothbrush, loofah and more
- Try this 'game-changing' hack for banishing yellow stains from your pillows
-
These 8 'simple' things are reducing the value of your house
You’ll ruin your bed sheets
Allowing stains from sweat and saliva to build up on your bed sheets will ruin them over time, leading to tough yellow stains which can be hard to remove.
Damaged mattress
Leaving stains to settle on bed sheets can also stain your mattress.
Not allowing the mattress to breathe and air out can trap bad odours and bacteria, not only will this cause your mattress to deteriorate quicker but it’s also extremely unhygienic.
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel