By Jack Dini ——Bio and Archives--October 31, 2023
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cleanliness of bed sheets and pillowcases is often overlooked yet nothing in your bedroom is as dirty as your pillowcase. Studies have shown that after just one week of use, pillowcases harbor bacteria levels surpassing those found on a toilet set by a staggering nearly 20,000 times. (1)
Fabric covers can accumulate roughly 3 million bacteria colonies per square inch after just one week of sleep. That's millions of bacteria touching your face as you toss and turn in your sleep, more than what's on your toilet seat.
This is in part because your body sheds about 15 million skin cells every night, and those can build up if you don't wash your bedding often, feeding thousands of dust mites living in your sheets. Not washing your bedding also give fungi and bacteria a chance to build up as you sleep. Nothing in your bedroom is as dirty as your pillowcase. (2)
In addition to dust mites, our beds harbor a variety of fungi. Feather and synthetic pillows used for 1.5 to 20 years may contain up to 16 types of fungi. (3)
When participants abstained from washing their bed sheets for four weeks, their pillowcases harbored 39 times more bacteria than a pet bowl, and bed sheets contained 5.4 times more bacteria than a toothbrush holder. Four strains of bacteria were found: gram-negative rods (41.5 percent), gram-positive rods (24.9 percent), bacilli (23.4 percent) and gram-positive cocci (10.2 percent). (1)
National Sleep Foundation (NSF) emphasizes the importance of keeping your bedding clean for your health and sleep quality. It is recommended to change your sheets and pillowcases weekly. If you have pets that sleep on your bed, changing bedding every three to four days is advisable. NSF also recommends cleaning your comforter and blankets every two to three months, pillows every four to six months, and mattresses every six months or so. (5)
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The Cleveland Clinic also recommends changes in bedding for specific situations. For instance, if you live in a very hot climate, experience excessive sweating during sleep (such as hot flashes), are recovering from an illness or infection, have allergies or asthma, or prefer sleeping naked, changing bedding more frequently is advisable.
Maintaining a clean bed goes beyond making the bed every morning. The risks having an unhygienic bed poses on you and your family's health are something to be avoided.
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Jack Dini is author of Challenging Environmental Mythology. He has also written for American Council on Science and Health, Environment & Climate News, and Hawaii Reporter.