Getting a good night’s sleep is important for feeling your best and staying healthy. When you lay down into your bed, it should be a place of relaxation and recovery, but if you aren’t properly cleaning your bedding, it could quickly become a place where your immune system is dangerously under attack.

What exactly could be lurking in your bed? More than you think.

The first thing that comes to people’s minds is bed bugs, and with good reason. These little bugs love living in and around mattresses because it is an easy source of food and warmth, two things they need. If there is a bed bug anywhere in your home, they will almost certainly find their way to your bed because they are attracted to warmth and carbon dioxide, both of which are readily available. Once there, they will also feast on your blood with tiny bites.

While not exactly life threatening, bed bugs can spread disease, on top of just being gross and uncomfortable. They are also quite hard to get rid of and easy to spread, so if you ever see them in a hotel or other location, take extra precautions to ensure you don’t bring them home with you. If you already have them, you’ll likely need to hire a professional to eliminate them permanently.

Bed bugs are just the most well-known of the many things that want to make your bed their home. Another little creature is the dust mite, which not only loves to live in beds, but also carpet, furniture, and most other soft areas of the house. They eat skin cells, dandruff, and other things that your body sheds throughout the night. Like all living creatures, after they eat, they defecate, which means you are sleeping in the mess of dust mites, which can cause allergies and other breathing issues.

There are many different types of fungus that are happy to call your bed home. Most of them are harmless, and even live on your body, which is how they get into your bed. If they build up over time, however, they can cause health issues. If you share a bed with a partner (or a pet), it is easy to share these fungi as well.

Of course, there is also bacteria and viruses that can live in your bed. In most cases, they will only see your bed as a temporary home while they wait to either reinfect you or spread to a partner. They can, however, survive in your bedding for weeks, or even months, without a problem, so if you aren’t keeping things clean, you are at serious risk of catching an infection long after the risk should have passed.

This is also why it is so important to wash your bedding after an illness has passed since the germs can remain in your bed waiting to cause problems.

All of these issues are common for people who have a typical sleeping arrangement, but what about those who have pets that love to share the bed? In those cases, there is also the risk of fleas, animal droppings, dog drool, and much more.

So, now that you know that your bed is a microscopic jungle that is constantly threatening your health, what can you do about it?

The most important thing you can do is make sure that you wash your bedding at least once a week (twice if you have pets). This includes your sheets and your pillow cases. Use a good detergent in the wash, and always use hot water. If you feel that your bedding might be extra dirty for some reason, consider hitting that extra rinse cycle on your washing machine.

Another thing you can do to help minimize the mess in your bed is to let your bedding air out in the morning before making your bed. This can help moisture, carbon dioxide, and other gasses to dissipate before you cover things back up with your blanket. Washing your actual pillows and heavy blankets about once every 2-3 months is also helpful, as is vacuuming your mattress a couple times per year.

With a little effort, you can keep your bed clean and healthy so that when you lay down at night, it really can be rejuvenating, instead of entering a microscopic battle field.

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