Bhg
  • Shop
  • News
  • Food
  • DIY
  • Garden
  • Renovating
  • Decorating
  • Health
  • TV
Bhg
  • Shop
  • News
  • Food
  • DIY
  • Garden
  • Renovating
  • Decorating
  • Health
  • TV
Subscribe
YOU’LL NEED A WEDGE TO HANG THAT DOOR
Watch 6:32

YOU’LL NEED A WEDGE TO HANG THAT DOOR

{headline}

{headline}

How to deep clean your home like a professional

How to deep clean your home like a professional

Get a better night’s rest with these 7 sleep-promoting products

Get a better night’s rest with these 7 sleep-promoting products

How to clean a mattress

How to clean a mattress

Study finds hand sanitiser isn’t as effective as we thought

Study finds hand sanitiser isn’t as effective as we thought

{headline}

{headline}

3 signs that you’re sleeping on the wrong pillow

3 signs that you’re sleeping on the wrong pillow

How often should you clean your water bottle?

How often should you clean your water bottle?

How to clean a synthetic or feather duvet

How to clean a synthetic or feather duvet

{headline}

{headline}

Why you shouldn't clean your ears with cotton buds

Why you shouldn't clean your ears with cotton buds

The best natural and eco-friendly cleaning products Australia

The best natural and eco-friendly cleaning products Australia

5 cleaning mistakes everybody makes

5 cleaning mistakes everybody makes

The top cult cleaning products everyone uses in their home

The top cult cleaning products everyone uses in their home

Cult favourite cleaning brand Koh is having a 60% off sale

Cult favourite cleaning brand Koh is having a 60% off sale

10 different ways to fall asleep quicker

10 different ways to fall asleep quicker

The 7 best way to get rid of cockroaches

The 7 best way to get rid of cockroaches

  1. Home
  2. Better Life

This is why you 100% need a top sheet on your bed

3 reasons why, according to science. - by Laura Barry
  • 27 Jun 2019
This is why you 100% need a top sheet on your bed

New research into human sleep patterns has discovered that we spend one third of our life sleeping, or attempting to sleep. Considering most of us sleep in our snuggly beds, that means we spend a third of our life rolling around in our bedding and smooshing our faces into our pillows.

You might be forgiven for thinking that most people make their beds the same way. Alas, you would be wrong. There’s an emerging trend whereby people have stopped using the humble yet necessary top sheet. Instead, many people are opting to sleep between their fitted sheet and the duvet – sans top sheet.

But we are here to tell you that you should have a top sheet on your bed, and science supports our claim, regardless whether you find yourself tangled in it at 3am in the morning.

Studies have shown that on average, humans sweat around 87 litres of moisture per year, and at least a third of that is going straight into your sheets. The same study found that feather and synthetic pillows between one and a half and 20 years old contain four to 17 different types of fungus. And you certainly wouldn’t sleep on your pillow without a case, would you?

bedding sheets
Getty

In an interview with Tech Insider, microbiologist and pathologist Ingrid Johnson said that your bed is an actual breeding ground for spores of fungi, bacteria, animal dander, pollen, soil, lint, finishing agents of whatever the sheets are made from, coloring material,  and all sorts of excrement from the human body such as sweat, sputum, vaginal and anal excretions, urine milieu, skin cells – honestly, the list goes on. And without a top sheet, that excrement is soaking straight through your duvet cover, and into the body of the duvet.

Furthermore, most duvet covers are not made to be laundered every week, and even if you are washing your duvet cover every week – when was the last time you cleaned your duvet?

white bed sheets
Getty

The ever-present duvet is a hotbed for dust mites and bacteria, not to mention the skin cells and sweat it collects from the human body every night. Helen Johnson, the spokesperson for The Fine Bedding Company told the Huffington Post that a duvet that hasn’t been washed for a year is likely to be home to more than 20,000 dust mites, in addition to the copious amounts of organic body matter. With that in mind, the humble top sheet is the last line of defence between you and all your germs, and the germs soaking into the core of your duvet. And even if you sleep with a top sheet, all bedding should be washed once a week – meaning if you don’t sleep with a top sheet – that duvet cover needs to be laundered more than once a week. Not such a low-maintenance option now, is it?

So, how do you feel about those top sheets now, huh?

You might also like:

This is how often you should change your sheets 

This is how often you should replace your pillow

This is how often you should wash a mattress protector

  • Health
  • Better Life
  • Cleaning
Laura Barry
Laura Barry
Laura Barry is a writer, bookworm and interior design enthusiast with a love for reporting on all things homes, travel and lifestyle. When not tapping away at her keyboard, Laura can be found making endless cups of tea or perusing the shelves of Sydney’s many bookstores.

Get your mag delivered!-Save 29% off the cover price!

Subscribe for $4.95 per issue

Subscribe Now
Get your mag delivered!

Get your mag delivered!-Save 29% off the cover price!

Subscribe for $4.95 per issue

Subscribe Now
Get your mag delivered!

Recommended to you

YOU’LL NEED A WEDGE TO HANG THAT DOOR
Watch 6:32

YOU’LL NEED A WEDGE TO HANG THAT DOOR

{headline}

{headline}

How to deep clean your home like a professional

How to deep clean your home like a professional

Get a better night’s rest with these 7 sleep-promoting products

Get a better night’s rest with these 7 sleep-promoting products

How to clean a mattress

How to clean a mattress

Study finds hand sanitiser isn’t as effective as we thought

Study finds hand sanitiser isn’t as effective as we thought

{headline}

{headline}

3 signs that you’re sleeping on the wrong pillow

3 signs that you’re sleeping on the wrong pillow

How often should you clean your water bottle?

How often should you clean your water bottle?

How to clean a synthetic or feather duvet

How to clean a synthetic or feather duvet

{headline}

{headline}

Why you shouldn't clean your ears with cotton buds

Why you shouldn't clean your ears with cotton buds

The best natural and eco-friendly cleaning products Australia

The best natural and eco-friendly cleaning products Australia

5 cleaning mistakes everybody makes

5 cleaning mistakes everybody makes

The top cult cleaning products everyone uses in their home

The top cult cleaning products everyone uses in their home

Cult favourite cleaning brand Koh is having a 60% off sale

Cult favourite cleaning brand Koh is having a 60% off sale

10 different ways to fall asleep quicker

10 different ways to fall asleep quicker

The 7 best way to get rid of cockroaches

The 7 best way to get rid of cockroaches

Bhg
  • About Us
  • Subscribe Today
  • Contact Us
  • Terms and Conditions
  • Privacy Policy
Bhg Magazine Subscribe
  • About Us
  • Subscribe Today
  • Contact Us
  • Terms and Conditions
  • Privacy Policy

Brands

  • All Recipes
  • BHG Shop
  • Girlfriend
  • Home Beautiful
  • New Idea
  • New Idea Food
  • Practical Parenting

Our Network

  • marie claire
  • Beauty Crew
  • Who
  • Women's Weekly Food
  • Bounty Parents
  • That’s Life
  • Perth Now
  • The West Australian
  • 7Plus
  • Airtasker
  • 7NEWS
  • SocietyOne
  • Health Engine
  • Starts at 60
© 2021 Are Media PTY LTD
Get more from Better Homes and Gardens

Magazine Subscription Offer

Get your mag delivered!-Save 29% off the cover price!

Shop This Offer
Get your mag delivered!