How often bedsheets should be changed is a somewhat sensitive, and debatable topic— whether single, married or in a relationship. A recent debate on social media touched on the complicated subject and people shared diverse opinions. Some joked that single men can go up to four months without changing the bedsheets—well, at least until the next visit of their companion—while others said a week is enough to change the inner beddings and replace them with clean ones. Others prefer to keep their favourite bedsheets on until they appear completely dirty and then change them. However, a recent publication by Healthline, a global health publication, shows that the lovely bedsheets you are keeping on that bed for long frequently collect a variety of invisible things, including germs that could lead to an ailment. It was further revealed that long-term use of the same sheets can lower immunity and increase the risk of contracting seasonal illnesses or infections. According to the publication, most people change their bedsheets when they see them dirty or they want to change the aesthetic, say when a girlfriend or boyfriend is visiting. Experts say this is a wrong practice because sleeping on filthy beddings can be harmful to your health, particularly the skin. “After all, I am the only one who sleeps in them.” The people who don’t change them often tend to tell themselves. Research indicates that you could get sick from all sorts of diseases and infections including pneumonia, gonorrhoea and other sexually transmitted infections resulting from bacteria found in dirty bedsheets. Experts say keeping the sheets on too long can give you problems like cold, flu, acne, allergies, eczema, and asthma as well as sleep-related problems, which can make you lethargic. Upon changing under the microscope, it was found that the dirty sheets contained bacteroides, which can cause diseases like pneumonia, gonorrhoea, and appendicitis. They contained both bacteroides and fusobacteria, which can result in a variety of severe illnesses. It is important to wash bedsheets every week, no matter how clean they look. This is mainly because our bodies release about 40,000 dead cells every day, which can also contain a lot of bad bacteria. This harms our health, especially sleep. Experts also say that if you don’t sleep on your mattress every day, you may be able to stretch this to once every two weeks or so. However, some people, especially couples, should wash their sheets even more often than once a week, since you have two people sleeping in them and the bacteria accumulated could be twice as much. So, if you are contemplating when to change those bedsheets, now you know why you should do it often.
