Experts issue health warning about going to bed with wet hair

10 March 2024 , 20:51

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You might want to think twice before doing it again (Image: Getty)

Experts have warned against going to bed with wet hair.

If you've ever done this or rested your wet hair against the back of your headboard, experts advise you to think twice before doing it again. The warm, damp environment created by your wet hair against your bedding and headboard is the perfect place for mites to breed. But mites aren't the only thing hiding in your headboard. This often-forgotten part of the bed may also be home to bedbugs and bacteria, warn experts from Happy Beds.

According to a survey by the experts, a shocking 53 per cent of people said they never clean their headboards. This suggests that many people might unknowingly be sharing their bed with these unwanted guests. To stop mites and other bacteria from spreading to your headboard, you should wash your bedding every week, reports Bristol Live.

The experts also say you shouldn't keep your pillow for more than two years. They can be home to millions of dust mites that can move to your headboard. Just one gram of dust can house hundreds of dust mites. Data from Happy Beds' bedding calculator showed that one-third of people have had their pillows for more than two years.

The longer you keep your pillow, and don't wash it, the more dust mites can gather. Studies have found that early-life exposure to dust mites was associated with wheezing in children up to 12 months, and asthma developing from the ages of 12-36 months old. Minor allergies to dust mites can also result in a runny nose and other symptoms that can impact the ability to sleep too.

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In addition to going to bed with wet hair, if you often drool or sweat in your sleep, experts have issued another health warning. Sweat and drool in bed or on your headboard can create a perfect environment for fungi and other bacteria to thrive. If this continues and you don't regularly clean your headboard or bedding, you could experience skin irritation. This skin irritation can worsen over time, leading to cracking and peeling.

Rom Preston-Ellis