This Simple 1-Minute Habit Is Linked to an Instantly Happier Mood

Published on February 4, 2026

Making your bed every morning may seem like a mundane chore, but studies have found that it can have a surprisingly powerful impact on your day. From reducing stress to improving sleep, making your bed can be a simple way to enhance overall well-being. In this article, we’ll explore four proven ways that making your bed can improve your mental health and set your day up for success.

Why You Should Make Your Bed Every Day

Starting your day with a quick, achievable task like making your bed can create a sense of control and accomplishment that sets a positive tone for the rest of the day, week, and longer.

1. Set a Positive Start to the Day

Making your bed first thing in the morning can provide an early sense of achievement. An article in Psychology Today explores the benefits of starting your day by making your bed. It says that establishing a morning bed-making routine can actually benefit mental health by providing structure and predictability, which are especially helpful during stressful times. 

2. Reduced Stress and Better Mood

The same Psychology Today article notes that maintaining a tidy environment can reduce stress and improve mood, leading to a more positive mental state. Research shows that individuals who consistently make their beds are more likely to experience success and wealth, suggesting that this simple practice can have far-reaching benefits that are well worth the minute or two it takes to complete.

3. Enhanced Productivity

Making your bed can create an immediate sense of accomplishment and pride, and it can also encourage you to complete more tasks throughout the rest of the day. An article from Patient.info discusses several advantages of incorporating bed-making into your daily routine. It states that completing this simple task can set a constructive tone for the day, potentially increasing motivation and improving overall efficiency. On top of that, finishing this small task early can boost self-esteem and create a sense of control.

4. Improved Quality of Sleep

A National Sleep Foundation poll found that individuals who make their beds are 19% more likely to report getting a good night's sleep, which could possibly be all thanks to creating a more organized and inviting sleep environment. But it could also be the effects of reduced stress and improved mood, showing that simply making your bed in the morning can have increasingly beneficial short- and long-term effects.

Bed-Making Tips

If you'd like to add making your bed to your daily routine to tap into these benefits, use the following tips to get started and sustain the habit.

Decide when: Making your bed as soon as you get up may be the best fit for your morning routine. Or perhaps you need a moment to fully wake up first, so work the task in after you brush your teeth or get dressed. Tape a note to the bathroom mirror or set reminders in your phone so you don't forget.

Decide how: To mentally check off this task, it can be as simple as just pulling up and straightening the covers. Or do you also want to fluff and arrange pillows to consider the job complete?

Decide who: If you have a partner, decide whose responsibility it is to make your bed. It could be something you want to do together if you get up at the same time, or you could make the rule that whoever is the last one out of bed makes it that day.

1. B Trachman M.D., Susan. “How Making Your Bed Can Improve Your Mood.” Psychology Today, 4 May 2025, www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/its-not-just-in-your-head/202505/how-making-your-bed-can-improve-your-mood.

2. Jarvis S. What are the mental health benefits of making your bed in the morning? patient.info. Published January 17, 2022. https://patient.info/news-and-features/what-are-the-mental-health-benefits-of-making-your-bed-each-morning

3. “Bedroom Poll Summary of Findings.” National Sleep Foundation, 2012.