Quick Answer: The science-supported answer is to air your bed for 20 to 30 minutes before making it. This lets moisture evaporate and disrupts the warm, humid conditions dust mites need to survive, while still capturing the psychological benefits of a made bed. A quality mattress protector and breathable sheets matter more for hygiene than whether the bed is made at all.
In This Guide
Reading Time: 10 minutes
Few household debates have generated as much heat as this one. In one corner: the discipline camp, citing Admiral William McRaven's viral 2014 commencement speech at the University of Texas, where he argued that making your bed every morning was the first small win that set the tone for the day. In the other corner: the science camp, waving a 2005 Kingston University study suggesting that an unmade bed might actually kill more dust mites.
Both sides have something real going for them. Both sides also tend to overstate their case. This guide gives you the actual science, without sensationalising it in either direction, and a practical answer you can use.
The Kingston University Dust Mite Study
In 2005, Dr. Stephen Pretlove, a building scientist at Kingston University in London, presented findings from research on how bed conditions affect dust mite populations. The central finding: an unmade bed, left open and exposed to room air during the day, dried out faster than a made bed. Dust mites, which absorb moisture from the air through glands on their bodies, cannot survive in low-humidity conditions. The hypothesis was that leaving the bed unmade could, over time, reduce the viable dust mite population.
What the Research Actually Found
Pretlove's research was a building physics model rather than a controlled clinical trial, and it has received only partial independent replication. The core biology is solid: dust mites do need relative humidity above roughly 50 percent to thrive, and they do take in water through cuticular absorption. A made bed traps body warmth and moisture from the previous night's sleep, maintaining the conditions mites prefer. An unmade bed exposed to room air loses that humidity more quickly. However, as allergy specialist Dr. Myron Zitt and others have noted, in most Canadian homes during spring, summer, and early autumn, ambient humidity is high enough that the unmade bed's advantage may be marginal.
The study was picked up widely in the media because it fit a convenient narrative: here is science giving you permission to not make your bed. The coverage was almost entirely uncritical. The actual conclusion, presented honestly, is more limited: bed ventilation may modestly reduce dust mite allergen levels under certain humidity conditions, but it is not a dust mite elimination strategy.
What Dust Mites Actually Need to Survive
About 80 percent of human allergen exposure comes from dust mites, and dust mite allergen is a significant trigger for asthma and allergic rhinitis. Roughly one million dust mites can live in a single gram of house dust, and the average mattress may contain several million under typical household conditions.
Dust mites eat shed human skin cells (of which adults shed roughly 30,000 to 40,000 per hour). They thrive in warm (20 to 25°C), humid (above 50% relative humidity) environments. Beds provide both: body heat and exhaled moisture during sleep create exactly the conditions mites need.
Ontario Humidity and Dust Mites
Brantford and most of southern Ontario see indoor humidity levels above 50 percent from roughly April to October without active dehumidification. During these months, the unmade-bed strategy for dust mite control has limited effect: ambient humidity is already high enough to sustain mite populations regardless of whether the bed is aired. In winter, when indoor relative humidity drops (often to 20 to 35 percent), the unmade bed approach makes more biological sense. Canadian climate context matters when evaluating this advice.
The most effective interventions for dust mite control, according to allergy research, are allergen-proof mattress and pillow encasements, weekly washing of bedding at 60°C (sufficient to kill mites), and reducing ambient humidity. Leaving the bed unmade is a minor ancillary measure, not a primary strategy.
The Habit-Science Case for Making Your Bed
Charles Duhigg's 2012 book The Power of Habit popularised the concept of keystone habits: behaviours that, when adopted, have a cascade effect on other positive behaviours. Making the bed is frequently cited as an example. The intuition is plausible: a simple, completable task at the start of the day may build momentum, reinforce a sense of self-efficacy, and create an environmental cue for orderly behaviour.
The empirical research is mostly correlational. A survey by the National Sleep Foundation found that people who made their beds were significantly more likely to report getting a good night's sleep (59 percent vs. 27 percent). The causation problem is obvious: people who make their beds may be more conscientious in general, and conscientiousness correlates independently with better sleep hygiene. Making the bed may not cause better sleep; it may simply be one of many behaviours that a certain type of sleeper tends to do.
That said, correlational evidence that a simple behaviour is consistently associated with better outcomes is not nothing. The Admiral McRaven angle, though it's become a pop psychology staple, reflects a real behavioural principle: small wins early in the day reduce decision fatigue and create a foundation for subsequent choices. Whether the mechanism is bed-making specifically or simply any completable morning task is debatable.
Talia, Showroom Specialist at Mattress Miracle: "We don't really hear customers ask whether to make their beds, honestly. What we do hear is 'should I be washing my sheets more often?' and 'does a mattress protector actually help with allergies?' Those are the hygiene questions that matter for the sleep environment. The bed-making debate is more of a lifestyle question."
The Verdict: A Third Option
The binary framing of this debate is the problem. "Make your bed" vs. "leave it unmade" misses the practically obvious middle path: air it first, then make it.
Leave the bed open for 20 to 30 minutes after waking. Open a window or run ventilation if humidity is elevated. This allows the warmth and moisture from the night to dissipate. After that period, the biological case for the unmade bed is largely satisfied. Then make it, if you want the psychological and aesthetic benefits.
This is not a new or radical idea. It's what households in many European cultures have done for generations, often airing duvets out a window on cool mornings. The biology supports it, the habit argument supports it, and it takes all of two minutes of intention to implement.
The one caveat: if you have severe dust mite allergies or asthma, the bigger interventions (allergen-proof encasements, frequent hot washing, possibly a regularly washed mattress protector) will do far more than any bed-making habit.
What Actually Matters for Bed Hygiene
Whether you make your bed or not matters considerably less for sleep hygiene than the following.
What Actually Moves the Needle on Bed Hygiene
- Mattress protector: An allergen-proof encasement over the mattress blocks dust mite allergen from accumulating in the mattress surface, which is not washable. This is the highest-leverage single purchase for anyone with allergies. Wash it monthly.
- Sheet washing frequency: Every 7 to 10 days at 60°C (140°F) kills dust mites and removes allergen. Washing at lower temperatures cleans visibly but does not reliably kill mites. Check your washer's temperature settings. Our guide to bed sheets in Canada covers which fabrics wash best at high temperatures.
- Pillow encasements: Pillows accumulate dead skin cells and mites even faster than mattresses because of direct facial proximity. Allergen-proof pillow protectors are worth it for allergy sufferers. Wash pillows every 3 to 6 months at 60°C or replace them.
- Bedroom humidity: A dehumidifier in Ontario summers can reduce ambient relative humidity below the 50 percent threshold mites need. This is particularly useful in basements or bedrooms without good air circulation.
- Vacuuming: Mattress surfaces should be vacuumed with a HEPA-filter vacuum every few weeks. Mites and allergens accumulate faster than visible dirt.
None of these are glamorous. But they're the interventions that allergy research consistently finds meaningful, rather than the made/unmade debate, which is a genuinely minor variable in the overall allergen exposure equation.
The pillow you're sleeping on also matters here. Older pillows that have never been encased can harbour significant allergen concentrations. If your pillow is more than 2 years old and has never been inside a protective cover, replacing it or at minimum encasing it is more impactful for nightly allergen exposure than any bed-making habit.
A Simple Weekly Bed Hygiene Routine
Leave the bed open for 20 to 30 minutes after waking. Wash sheets weekly in hot water. Use an allergen-proof protector on the mattress. Wash the protector monthly. Check your pillow every 6 months. That is genuinely the full hygiene protocol. Everything else is aesthetic preference.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does making your bed cause more dust mites?
A made bed does maintain slightly warmer, more humid conditions near the sleep surface compared to an open, aired bed. This may modestly favour dust mite survival during the day. However, the effect is small compared to mattress encasements, frequent hot washing, and humidity control, which are the interventions allergy research finds actually meaningful for mite allergen levels.
Should you make your bed if you have allergies?
If you have dust mite allergies, the priority order is: allergen-proof mattress encasement, weekly hot washing of sheets, allergen-proof pillow covers. After those are in place, airing the bed for 20 to 30 minutes before making it is a sensible addition. The made vs. unmade question is a minor variable relative to these other interventions.
Is making your bed actually linked to better productivity?
Correlational surveys, including the National Sleep Foundation's Bedroom Poll, find that bed-makers report better sleep and, anecdotally, higher productivity. The causal direction isn't established: people who make their beds may simply be more conscientious in general, which independently predicts both outcomes. That said, small completable morning tasks do have documented benefits for motivation and self-efficacy.
How often should you wash your sheets for good hygiene?
Every 7 to 10 days is the general recommendation. More importantly, wash at 60°C (140°F) to kill dust mites, not just to clean visibly. Many Canadian washing machines have a hot or sanitise setting that reaches this temperature. Check the care label on your sheets to confirm they can handle it.
What mattress protector do you recommend at Mattress Miracle?
We carry mattress protectors in our Brantford showroom. Talia can walk you through which protectors work best for allergy management versus general waterproofing. Call (519) 770-0001 or stop in at 441½ West Street. The honest answer depends on what you need it to do.
Sources
- Pretlove, S.E.C., et al. (2006). Investigating the optimal conditions for dust mite growth in UK dwellings: A sensitivity analysis. Building and Environment, 41(6), 793–806. doi.org/10.1016/j.buildenv.2005.03.021
- Arlian, L.G., & Platts-Mills, T.A.E. (2001). The biology of dust mites and the remediation of mite allergens in allergic disease. Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology, 107(3 Suppl), S406–S413. doi.org/10.1067/mai.2001.113670
- Woodcock, A., et al. (2003). Control of exposure to mite allergen and allergen-impermeable bed covers for adults with asthma. New England Journal of Medicine, 349(3), 225–236. doi.org/10.1056/NEJMoa023175
- Neal, D.T., et al. (2006). Habits: A repeat performance. Current Directions in Psychological Science, 15(4), 198–202. doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-8721.2006.00435.x
- National Sleep Foundation. (2012). 2012 Bedroom Poll. Washington, DC: National Sleep Foundation. thensf.org
- Duhigg, C. (2012). The Power of Habit: Why We Do What We Do in Life and Business. Random House. ISBN 978-1400069286.
Visit Our Brantford Showroom
We are located at 441½ West Street in downtown Brantford. Free parking available, wheelchair accessible. Our team does not work on commission, so you get honest advice based on your needs.
Mattress Miracle — 441½ West Street, Brantford, ON — (519) 770-0001
Hours: Monday–Wednesday 10am–6pm, Thursday–Friday 10am–7pm, Saturday 10am–5pm, Sunday 12pm–4pm.
If you're wondering about mattress protectors or breathable bedding that make your hygiene routine effortless, call Talia at (519) 770-0001. She can help you find the right fit for your bed and budget.
Shop This Topic at Mattress Miracle
Popular picks at Mattress Miracle:
Or browse the mattress collection in our Brantford showroom.