7 Reasons Making Your Bed Makes Life Better
Can making your bed actually improve your life? Studies show that it can!
How long does it take you to make your bed? I timed myself this morning, and it only took me two minutes. Two minutes! Why do I ever drag my feet about doing something that takes almost no time at all? Especially when that two minute investment could be multiplied 100 fold.
You heard me right. I honestly think that the two minutes it takes to make your bed in the morning will give you 200 minutes of extra time during the day. Talk about small habits and big differences—this is compound interest at it’s best!
My mom is the queen of made beds. Every bed in her house is always perfectly made, and I’m pretty sure it’s because she understands these 7 principles better than anyone I know. We are living with her right now, and if my kids learn nothing else from our 5 months living with their grandparents, they will have learned the habit of making their bed right away.
The thing about making your bed is that it’s easy to do, but it’s also easy not to do. It doesn’t seem like leaving your bed unmade is going to have a profound effect on your day, but the rewards are big.
How Making Your Bed Improves Your Life
1. It removes the temptation to get back in bed
For me, this is the number one reason I make my bed. If I don’t make my bed as soon as I get out of it, I am so much more tempted to just get back in after the kids are off to school. And if I get back in, there goes my day! Getting back in bed guarantees that I will waste time playing on my phone or that I will go to sleep for another couple hours—even when I don’t need the extra sleep.
I know that if I make my bed, I won’t get back in—who wants to make the bed twice? So do it right when you get up if only to get rid of the temptation to snuggle back in.
2. It gets you up and moving
Making a king sized bed requires a bit of physical labor—especially if you have as many pillows as I do! Something about having to walk around the bed a few times while making it wakes me up and I’m much more willing to get going with other physical activities. Like, say, exercise!
3. It increases your productivity levels
On the days I make my bed, I miraculously get more done. Something about finishing that one task early in the day makes it easier to keep going. Or maybe it’s just that I didn’t get back in bed. Whichever it is, I notice that my productivity soars when I make my bed.
4. It helps you solidify other good habits
Making your bed inspires you to keep up with other good habits. In Charles Duhigg’s book The Power of Habit: Why We Do What We Do In Life and Business, he says, “Making your bed every morning is correlated with better productivity, a greater sense of well-being, and stronger skills at sticking with a budget. It’s not that a family meal or a tidy bed causes better grades or less frivolous spending, but somehow those initial shifts start chain reactions that help other good habits take hold.”
(PS That quote makes me feel even better about this small habits challenge than I did before!)
5. It keeps your bedroom cleaner
It is so much easier to throw junk into a bedroom with an unmade bed than it is when the bed is made up nicely! When my bed is made it inspires me to quickly clean the rest of my bedroom so it matches the beautiful bed. Doing this day after day will equal a much cleaner bedroom than if you just cleaned it once in a while. Clutter won’t have time to build up and stuff will stay off of the floor and other surfaces.
6. It helps you sleep better
I don’t know why it works, but even the National Sleep Foundation agrees. In a study they conducted, they found that people who made their bed regularly were more likely to get a good night’s sleep. This is another great example of how good habits—small as they are—have a synergistic quality and begin to support other good habits.
7. It reduces stress
When my surroundings are messy, cluttered, and chaotic it stresses me out. I am quicker to snap at my family members and I spend more time being overwhelmed than I do when my house is clean. I firmly believe that a clean house begins with a clean bedroom, and a clean bedroom begins with a made bed.
Look at all the amazing benefits that you’ll get by making a small, two minute investment each day! In my opinion, it isn’t ever worth it to skip making your bed (unless you’re sick, in which case you have permission to stay in it all day).
- Small Habit: Make your bed daily
- Big Difference: Higher productivity, less stress, cleaner house, and better sleep
This post is part of a Small Habits That Will Make a Big Difference 30 day challenge. To see all of the posts in this series, click here. Or, join the challenge and receive a daily email with a new small habit that can affect your life in a big way.
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