Make the bed or let it breathe? The great morning debate

Every relationship has that one question that can ruin a whole morning. Squeeze the toothpaste from the bottom or the middle? Toilet roll over or under? And of course: is the bed made in the morning or not?

Some shake out the duvet every morning, smooth the sheet and arrange the cushions as if a photographer were about to arrive. Others throw the duvet back and leave. Which team I'm on, I'll only tell you at the very end.

Team Airing: the mites object

Every night we release warmth and moisture into our bed. If the duvet is neatly put back straight after getting up, that warm, damp climate stays nicely trapped. And who loves exactly that? That's right: house dust mites.

Some twenty years ago, a British university made headlines with the idea that an unmade bed dries out better and makes life hard for those tiny creepy-crawlies. It was more of a computer model than final proof, but the basic idea makes sense: the moisture has to go somewhere.

Team Bed-Making: order in the mind

On the other side is an argument not to be underestimated: the feeling. A made bed is the first job of the day ticked off. An American admiral even opened a famous speech with it. His first piece of advice to the graduates: if you want to change the world, start by making your bed.

And honestly: climbing into a tidy bed at night is simply nicer than having to untangle a knotted duvet first.

The compromise for everyone

As so often, the compromise wins. When you get up, throw back the duvet, open the window wide and let the bed breathe for twenty to thirty minutes while you shower and have breakfast. Then shake out the duvet, plump the pillows, done. The moisture gets its way out, and you still get your tidy bedroom. And a few minutes with the window wide open beats a whole day with it tilted open, especially in winter.

Air it first, make it afterwards, and both teams can live in peace.

And which team am I on? I air it, then I make it, with coffee in between. Quite a lot of coffee.