A good excuse to stay in bed!

FOR THOSE of us who are a bit lazy about changing our bed sheets, there was good news t his week, with a report suggesting that the microscopic creatures that share our beds may actually boost our health.

When researchers from the University of Copenhagen in Denmark analysed bed dust (made up of old human skin) from the beds of 577 infants, they found nearly a thousand different types of bacteria and fungi. And the number of species was highest in boys living in rural areas who had a pet. We’ve known for s ome t i me t hat exposure to a wide range of microbes, particularly early in life, is linked to a reduced risk of conditions such as asthma, obesity and type 2 diabetes. The thinking is that regular exposure to bugs helps train our immune systems in how to behave (and not overreact, as happens with allergies).

As the lead researcher, Søren Sørensen, put it: ‘The simple message is that constantly changing bedsheets may not be necessary.’ (Although in classic researcher terms, he added a caveat: ‘[But] we need to investigate this a bit more closely before being able to say so for sure.’)