Make Your Bed! Your Mom was Right!

Do you make your bed everyday? Turns out making your bed is more than just making your bedroom pretty in the morning. By simply making your bed you can add years to your life, find the motivation you need to conquer the world, ward away sickness, and even develop self-discipline.

Making your bed can:

1.Keep you from getting sick.
Everyday a thin layer of dust and allergens settles on every surface of your house. If you leave your bed unmade then you will hop right into an icky layer of particles. Your head will be lying directly on dust for you to inhale all night long. This can also irritate your skin, cause allergies, and even cause colds and illness if airborne bacteria are present. Also, any critter that flies or can get up high (think spiders, mosquitoes, etc.) can slip under the covers more easily when your bed is unmade.

Tip: Pulling your comforter and top sheet down are very popular ways to make the bed these days. It makes for a decorative way to show off colors and pillows. Instead of pulling your sheet down, leave it tightly pulled up and tucked and only pull your comforter down. Also pull the sheet completely over the pillows you sleep on. This will protect them so that you will have your face on a clean surface at night. You will still be able to see the colors of your sheets, but your bed will remain dust-free.

2. Add years to your life.
Simply making your bed can have a very powerful affect on the quality of your sleep. We all know that getting plenty of valuable sleep every night makes us healthy all over. Getting enough sleep helps keep us younger, can prevent all kinds of diseases, and just makes us feel better so that we can be more productive.

When you make your bed consistently everyday it sends a signal to your brain that says, "Ok it is time to be awake." Likewise, when your bed is turned down at night it sends a signal that says it is time to go to sleep. You can actually train your brain when you start making your bed regularly. If your bed is disheveled and messy all the time, then your body doesn't know when to wind down.

Tip: This strategy is especially helpful to those who are in multi-purpose living spaces such as dorms and studio apartments and those who work from home. You want to make your bed up as soon as you wake so that while you are working or studying nearby your body doesn't want to drift back asleep. Make your bed look different during the day by adding decorative pillows. When you want to start getting sleepy, turn your sheets down and remove the extra pillows. Also, don't study or work in your bed.

3. Get you motivated!
Recent studies have shown that being self-disciplined in one small area of your life (such as making your bed) starts a chain reaction into other areas. Being self-disciplined about making your bed is a perfect small area to start with. By making your bed you are saying that you are up and ready for your day. You also won't be as tempted to jump back in your bed. If you want to start an exercise routine in the morning, making your bed is a great way to begin. Start by making your bed as soon as you get up and doing a few minutes of stretches. Soon your body will be accustomed to being energized and you will feel like doing more. The discipline it takes to make your bed everyday will soon spill over into other areas of your life!

Tip: Make your bed as soon as you get up! Right when your feet hit the floor make your bed. Take a deep breath and look at what you've already accomplished. This gets your day off to a great start and will motivate you to be productive everyday.

4. Release stress.
Have you ever noticed that when you make your bed your entire room looks neat? There can be laundry on the floor and things piled on the dresser, but by just making your bed it changes the whole feel of the room. Visually, making your bed will help keep you de-stressed all day long. Cleaning and organizing can also be very therapeutic, so by making your bed you get your day off to a less stressful start.

We all know people who don't see the point in making their bed when they are going to get right back in it that night. I was guilty of this argument with my mom growing up. If you don't currently make your bed, try it for a couple of weeks and give it a shot! Who knows, you may become an avid bed maker!

If you already religiously make your bed, then good for you, keep it up! When you are tightening sheets and tucking every morning know that you are doing something good for yourself.

Brandi Hamrick, life and dating coach
www.brandihamrick.com