5 reasons you should make your bed every day

Spring is here, and it's a great time to clean your home and declutter your life. But, it's also a fantastic opportunity to start developing some new routines to improve your lifestyle and well-being in the long run.

These new habits don't need to be grand in scale, either. For instance, simply making your bed every day might not immediately sound like a new, life-changing task — but you might just be surprised at the far-ranging benefits that it can offer.

With this in mind, we're going to explore five reasons that you should think about making your bed every day. Get into the habit and you won't regret it!

It can help to strengthen your body clock

For many, waking up and starting the day can be a real struggle, something that's usually explained away as a simple fact that they’re not really "a morning person". But, as we discussed in a previous blog post, if you're feeling groggy when you wake up, it's usually a product of other habits in your life, or a lack of habits, in some cases.

This is because our bodies run on an internal clock that helps to signal when it's time to sleep and wake, and this is reinforced by our daily routine. If you combine tasks like making your bed with others in the morning and the evening, you can train and strengthen your body clock to slowly adapt to those early starts.

It gets you in the right frame of mind to start the day

When you wake, making your bed is an easy accomplishment that can put you in the right frame of mind to start the day. It's one of your first tasks and, if you can accomplish it, then you can move on with positivity. In short, it's an easy win that you shouldn't overlook.

According to expert Charles Duhigg in his book The Power of Habit, making your bed is a "keystone habit": a task that can spur you on to make other positive decisions through the rest of the day and helps you exercise more control over your schedule. The book also goes on to suggest that these habits can help you develop more complex life skills, such as managing a budget.

It can be an exercise in mindfulness

If you're at all familiar with the wellbeing industry, you've likely come across the term "mindfulness" at some point — essentially, it's the practice of focusing on the present moment to become more attentive and insightful about other things in your life. Many think it can be a very effective method for positive thinking and change.

Wondering what this has to do with making your bed? Well, one study found that performing mundane tasks — in this case, dishwashing — is a great way of improving focus for meditation. Many subjects experienced increases in positive thinking, like inspiration, and decreases in negative thoughts, like nervousness.

So, next time you start to make your bed, try meditating on the day ahead, and you may be surprised at how productive your thinking can become.

It helps to reinforce other tidy habits

We've already mentioned how making your bed is an easy win, so why not use it as the springboard for a range of other tidy habits. Getting into the routine of putting your duvet on straight each and every morning is a great way of reinforcing your self-discipline, something that you may be able to apply to a host of other chores around the home.

Not only will you feel much better for having all your menial tasks done by the weekend, but you'll be able to enjoy life in a neat and tidy home.

It will improve your quality of sleep

Our previous point about tidy habits relates directly to this next one: making your bed and keeping the rest of your room spick and span can improve the quality of your sleep.

This may seem a little farfetched at first glance, but it's a link that's been backed up by science. For instance, one study found that hoarders — especially those with a cluttered, disorderly bedroom — were much more likely to suffer from a poor quality of sleep.

Additionally, making your bed and ensuring that your bedclothes are kept clean and hygienic will help to keep irritants that can disrupt sleep, like dust mites, at bay. This means that you are much less likely to suffer a coughing and sneezing fit when you're trying to drift off. Take a look at our blog post on keeping your room tidy to get some essential tips.

Take our advice on making your bed every day on board and you could see a whole range of benefits in your life. Don’t hesitate to get in touch in touch if you have any questions. Visit our blog and advice centre for more sleeping tips.