Is this an old person thing? Do people actually do this?
I don’t actually make our bed, neither my wife or I do.
That being said, it isn’t a waste of time in and of itself. Making a bed gives you a chance to inspect the sheets, which has multiple benefits. It also means that you’ll be making the bottom sheet (whether it be a fitted sheet or a regular sheet folded into place old school) smooth and positioned well.
That pretty much means that the job isn’t a waste.
Now, it could be argued that you can gain all of the benefits by just straightening everything up before you go to bed, and that’s true usually. The question is if we’ll not only do the job right, but be in a state of mind to notice everything well. A lot of people, by the time they’re ready to go to bed, don’t have the internal resources to ensure that everything is good to go.
You ever hear the term hospital corners? It’s a way of making a bed. It ensures that the person using the bed has a smooth surface, free of skin irritating folds. For an ambulatory patient, the benefit of that is minor. But for someone that’s in a hospital bed for prolonged times, or that have skin durability issues, or can’t communicate discomfort, a well made bed is a necessity.
This translates to situations outside of a clinical setting, just with less consequences should the bedding fail to be smooth. But not zero consequences. Minor as it may be, skin irritation from wrinkled and folded sections of bedding can be severe enough to increase the risk of skin infections. Not a huge risk increase, but it’s there.
The process of making the bed also reduces any shed skin, or detritus carried into the bed, which means reduced food sources for anything undesirable. That means an overall reduction in allergens and irritants that can be a problem if you aren’t changing sheets daily. It won’t remove as much as changing sheets, but you’d be amazed how much is in your sheets after even one night of sleep.
Anything along those lines also carries the possibility of decreasing quality of sleep, which is already a problem millions of people deal with.
Now, we change our sheets often enough to minimize any of those issues, and I run a pass of the vacuum via the furniture/upholstery thingy regularly between changes. Any of the drawbacks to unmade sheets go away under those conditions because they’ll get changed again before any buildup can reach problematic levels. Add in the willingness to smooth the sheets out before climbing in, and adjusting the fitted sheet for smoothness works as well.
But, there’s a secondary benefit the making the bed that isn’t about the bed or sleep.
We humans are strange sometimes. Our minds and brains pull some fuckery on us. For one, habits are easy to break, but hard to build. It’s easier to break a small habit than a large one, particularly when tired.
But of more importance is how people in general deal with visual order vs visual disorder. A “mess” tends to shift human behavior in comparison to a neat area. As an example, if you have a perfectly clean table, people coming along are less likely to leave a mess. But if the table already has objects just sitting there, they’re more likely to also leave something.
That proclivity occurs in our homes as much as anywhere else. Having a bed made up looks neater than one that is unmade. This can lead to other forms of mess that can cascade into a household wide situation where people, out of nothing but subconscious perception, are more likely to let messes build up.
I can’t find the study I’m pulling that from to link to. Not even sure it’s available online. So I’m not going to throw out percentages of people leaving more things on an already littered table, but it was high enough when I read it years ago that it stuck in my memory as being very high.
Making a bed perfectly isn’t necessary. It doesn’t even have to be fully made. But it isn’t a waste of time at all, much less a complete waste. And, again, I don’t actually make my bed and haven’t for decades.
What I do is straighten things up. Untangle sheets and blankets, smooth things out and leave the top bedding in an easy to reach position if I need to crash hard and fast (which is not unusual when my disabilities and medications are a factor).
I could save alot of time if I got into your bed instead of mine. ;)
save a *lot of time
Well first of all, cool username.
Secondly, this is crazy… I have thought it a complete waste of time for most of my life, up until 35ish. I still think it’s useless, but I do it and I find the comfort of those tightened well arranged bedsheet a solace. A relief from the hardships of a life of modern slavery.
Anyway, Dead Moon’s great and I’m an old person.
Post scriptum: my SO adds that making the bed in the morning gives strong feelings of accomplishment, order and power over their life, that are needed to face a new day…of slavery under the tiranny of injustice…
The state of your bed is the state of your head. I’ve heard said.
The state of your bhead
Thank you! You’re the first person to catch that song reference. Dead Moon is way underrated.
I will admit it’s very comfortable when I make the bed after washing my sheets. I just don’t like making the bed, especially in the morning. Maybe it’s me being, tired, busy, or lazy. In any case, it gives me something to look forward to when washing sheets.
The person who introduced me to Dead Moon said something like “they inspired a lot of great bands but few people know/like them”. And it’s terribly true, isn’t it?
I’m lying in bed and I’m glad I made it this morning
I remember reading somewhere that Kurt Cobain was a fan, so much so he invited them to open for Nirvana in 1992. Dead Moon was touring New Zealand at the time and didn’t want to cancel a gig for a better gig.
Hahaha great story! I love how their lack of success seems like a self inflicted mediocrity plague. I really love “bad” music.
Kurt Cobain also helped bring attention to Daniel Johnston by wearing his shirt on stage at his big mtv appearance. Another great “bad” artist I love.
Helps with allergies. Dust isn’t settling on it all day. You’re not washing your sheets daily, make the bed esp if you have windows open and you’ll suffer considerably less.
That depends on which allergies. If you’re allergic to dust mites, it’s better to leave your bed open and air it out.
It’s a total waste of time. That is my definition of luxury, and I do enjoy my luxury. It’s 30 seconds of my time, for a moment of good feelings before i sleep.
Edit: Do you not enjoy going to bed in fresh sheets?
Feng shui. Not the crazy traditional implementation. I believe that your surroundings are a reflection of your state of mind as much as your state of mind is influenced by your surroundings. Treat each with care.
I didn’t start making the bed until I got a dog. I don’t mind him getting ON the bed but I don’t want any fur under the sheets
https://sh.itjust.works/post/20344663
Making your bed is a waste of time I didn’t say “complete”
It’s much nicer to get into a made bed at the end of the day than a messy one
