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Scientists estimate that on average as many as an astonishing 1.5 million mites can be found on a single bed.
The problem is not so much their mere existence, but rather their droppings. These, when inhaled, irritate the mucous membranes in the respiratory tract and can also cause allergies or even asthma.
What environment do mites thrive in best?
Dr. Stephen Pretlove from the Faculty of Agriculture at Kingston University offers a simple explanation for why mites occur in beds.
He states that during sleep your body heat, dead skin flakes and most importantly – your sweat – are retained in the bed.
Such conditions are ideal for the life and reproduction of mites.
The problem is that even during the day the bed tends to retain moisture under the duvets, which keeps mites alive .
We know that mites can survive only by capturing water from the air. They do this with special glands located on the surface of their bodies.
Making the mites’ environment uninhabitable
A completely simple, easy and quick solution to change the environment to one in which mites cannot survive is to leave the bed unmade during the day .
If you make the bed right after waking up, your body heat and moisture will continue to be retained under the covers and pillows.
In such an environment mites then continue to reproduce very well.
However, if you leave the bed unmade, the room air will gradually draw moisture out of the sheet, bedding and mattress. As a result of dehydration, the mites will then begin to die off quickly.
After exposing the bed to fresh air and sunlight all day, many of the mites will already be dead by the evening. You will therefore breathe much more easily at night.
Completely best is if you completely remove the pillows and duvets from the bed and place them on the balcony , so they get as much fresh air as possible.
If that’s not possible, it’s also sufficient to simply drape them over a chair in the room . This way they can be well aired on both sides.
conclusion
So, now you have an excellent and above all scientific justification for why you don’t have to make your bed in the morning.
It will also serve as a great excuse if your partner or, in the case of the younger generation, your parents, try to make you do this task.
