When was the last time you changed your sheets? A shocking one in four people living in the U.S. may say, "When they looked or smelled dirty," according to a new survey, which is problematic for several reasons. Amerisleep just polled 1,000 U.S. adults about their bedding habits and discovered this concerning trend, along with a few other revelations. For instance, 27% of Americans only wash their sheets once a month, which is far less than the once-a-week recommendation from most health experts. Here are the full survey results and how your sheets and mattress hygiene could be unknowingly sabotaging your sleep and skin health. Amerisleep's survey included 50% women and 50% men in all different generations, from baby boomers to Gen Z. The results showed that the average adult isn't keeping up with proper bed hygiene.
Here are some eye-raising stats:
- The majority of Americans (37%) wash their sheets every two weeks, while 11% wash them less than once a month
- 58% of people have never cleaned their mattress
- 35% wash their comforter or duvet less than once a month, while 33% do it every month
- 35% wash their pillowcase every two weeks, while 28% do it at least once a week
This new survey found a clear generational divide when it comes to bedding maintenance. Specifically, Gen Zers aren't keeping things as clean as older adults. They're twice as likely as other generations to sleep in their outside clothes and 25% more likely to get into bed post-workout without showering. They’re also almost three times more likely than baby boomers to wait until their sheets look or smell dirty before washing them, despite invisible bacteria building up long before that point. Only 19% of Gen Zers are cleaning their sheets once a week.