While you may have gotten out of the habit since your parents had to remind you as a kid, making your bed might be worth the effort. In addition to sliding into neat sheets and blankets every night, there’s growing evidence that there are more good reasons to get in the habit.
Roughly 70% of Americans make their bed every morning. Here’s why they might be on to something.
The Psychological Benefits of Making Your Bed
If well over half of Americans are doing up their sheets each day, there must be something to it. Some adherents say that it offers important mood-boosting feelings, like a sense of accomplishment, organization, and calm.
While there isn’t a robust library of research on the benefits of keeping your bed made, there’s plenty of evidence that working in an organized environment and living in a tidy home improves focus and productivity and lowers stress.
Making your bed can improve your sleep too. One study found that those who made their bed every morning got 2.5 more hours of sleep than those who didn’t regularly make their beds.
Why Making Your Bed Matters
It’s not just about getting more done or reducing stress. As you might suspect, the self-discipline it takes to make your bed every day is the same sort of self-discipline that improves impulse control.
How to Start a Bed-Making Habit
Looking to add making your bed to your morning routine? Like any habit, it can take some time to make it second nature.
- Habit stacking — Habit stacking, or habit chaining, is the idea that we can develop new habits by linking them to or replacing old habits. To start making your bed, you might link the task with another behavior. One idea might be to leave your phone in your room until after breakfast. When you come back to get it, make the bed.
- Get help — Even if it’s your goal, your significant other or a family member can help. Something as simple as asking them to check that you made the bed might help reinforce the habit or remind you to get it done.
- Lower your standards? — Making the bed doesn’t have to look like professional turndown services at a five-star hotel. For you, it might simply be pulling the covers up to your pillow and making sure to clear the bed of items before you leave for the day. Keeping your standards realistic can help you adopt the habit.
Is It Worth It?
Making the bed is a personal decision. From a health and hygiene perspective, you may consider keeping your bed unmade. A 2001 study found that a made bed contains a higher number of germs compared to an unmade bed.
Still, it may be worth a shot to improve your mood and reduce stress. About 74% of those who make their bed say they end each day feeling accomplished; a claim that less than half of the non-bed makers could make.
A Tidy Home Is a Happy Home
A made bed is great, but do you wish you could keep your entire home just as nice and tidy? Molly Maid’s team of cleaning professionals can help keep your house clean, so you have more time to do the things you love. Choose daily, weekly or monthly cleanings, or just call us when you need us. Schedule an appointment today.
