Inside Your Bed’s "Dirty Hidden Biome" And How To Keep Things Clean

Whether you sleep alone, with someone else, or buried under a cat or dog, you will also share your sleep space with a world of tiny creatures, from bacteria to bed mites. A dirty bed could worsen our health when we’re sick, keep us from having a good night’s sleep, and is also just a bit gross. In this article, we review some of the critters living in your average bed and detail the best regimen for keeping it clean. 

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The number one source of bed-dwelling bugs is our own bodies. The human microbiome—the community of microbes that live in and on our bodies—can easily transfer to our sheets as we sleep. The sweat, skin cells, and saliva we leave on those same sheets will keep bug populations well fed all through the night. 

Many of these bugs will be fairly harmless. Some bacteria that colonize our gut can spread infections, like Staphylococcus aureus, but there’s no evidence that harmful bacteria can be spread through nighttime flatulence or drooling. Fungi and viruses—if we are sick— are also present in our bodies. Researchers have shown that viruses spread through shedding onto the clothes and sheets of sick patients, so washing your sheets after a period of illness is advised, especially if you share your bed with someone else. 

Dust mites are also found in beds, pillows, carpets, and pretty much every other soft furnishing in our homes. These bugs will feast on skin cells and dandruff that our bodies shed onto these materials. 

They share this meal with the tiny fungi living on our skin. But dust mites also breed and defecate in our sheets. Altogether, this small life cycle happening inches from our sleeping faces can worsen existing allergies. The symptoms of these allergies resemble those of hay fever or asthma and can disrupt sleep. 

It's not just people with severe allergies who should be mindful of bed-borne bugs. If you are elderly, pregnant, or immunocompromised, you might be at higher risk of any diseases or pathogens transferred to your sheets. 

Scaling up from dust mites, we find bed bugs—small parasitic insects of the genus Cimex. If a bedbug infestation gets into your sheets, you’ll have a tough time getting rid of it, so keeping an eye out for these small wingless insects is important. While they are colloquially associated with filth and grime, these bugs will be attracted to any warm space with a supply of blood and carbon dioxide, which means any occupied bed.  

Despite all this, if you are in good health, you should have little to fear from sleeping in a dirty bed. The “hygiene hypothesis”, first formulated in the 1980s, suggests that exposure to microbes can strengthen your immune system. For example, people who live and work on farms and are exposed to larger volumes of animal feces than the average office worker are more resistant to certain diseases. There’s no solid evidence yet that this extends to a filthy bed, so please don’t let your local cow herd stay for a sleepover. 

With all these potential microbes, good and bad, coming into our sleeping quarters, how are we best to keep our sheets clean? 

Dermatologist Sean McGregor, speaking to the Cleveland Clinic, said that medical experts advise cleaning sheets at least once per week. Washing your pillows and blankets every few months will also help to keep the bugs at bay. You should wash your sheets with hot water, let your bed air out in the morning before you make your bed, and vacuum your mattress every six months to complete your sleep hygiene routine. 

All these steps together will help you keep a cleaner bed and, most importantly, give you a fresher, better night’s rest.