When Should you Change your Bed Sheets?

We're adamant that climbing into clean bed sheets is the best feeling in the world (no we're not exaggerating!)

But it turns out that lots of us aren't changing our bed sheets often enough... you’re missing out on that fresh bed sheet feeling, and leaving dirty sheets on the bed might even be affecting your health (yes, really!).

Every week we spend an average of two days in bed.

In those two days our body will shed millions of skin cells, and unfortunately they don't just float off out the bedroom window. As well as shedding skin, it's guaranteed that we're going to sweat during the night (even more so during summer). It doesn't matter whether you're squeaky clean and shower before bed, it just can't be helped.

The mix of skin cells, sweat and oil from our body attract dust mites, which in themselves are harmless but their droppings (gross, we know) are not. These droppings are the culprits that make your sheets dirty. Leaving your sheets dirty can trigger asthma attacks, irritate eczema and even leave you waking up with a stinking cold.

As a general rule for keeping germs at bay, washing your sheets every other week should be plenty.

A fifth of the UK currently only change their sheets every month (and 1% only once in a year - YUK). So as long as that's not you, you're doing something right.

• Sweaty sleeper? The more you sweat, the dirtier your sheets get. Simple. Changing your sheets every week means you'll be removing any of the dirt that your sweat leaves.
• Share your bed? Whether it's with your partner or your pet, the more bodies in your bed the more germs in the bed.
• Sleep in your birthday suit? If you're one of the 54% that told us you're wearing nothing to bed, then the contact between your skin and your sheets could be what's making them mucky. If you can't bear not sleeping in the buff then make sure your popping fresh sheets on the bed weekly.

However, we know stripping and making your bed isn't everybody's idea of a good time...

Get into a habit of taking all your dirty sheets off the bed on the morning you intend on changing them. That way, when bedtime comes, you’ll have no other choice but to treat yourself to a fresh bed.

It's worth checking that all your sheets are 100% cotton, rather than poly-cotton. Cotton is a natural material, so it allows your body to breathe during the night, making them less dirty, as you'll sweat less. Read all about cotton here.

Treating yourself to a fresh set of sheets will also mean you'll be more likely to change them more often.

So... lets be honest, are you changing your sheets enough?

Or do you have any top tips for keeping your bed clean? Let us know, we love a chit chat (but not at bedtime, obviously).