Health & Wellbeing Does your bed have dust mites?

Just one of the things to check before hitting the sack. Overhaul your bed and boost your health...

Abetter sleeping environment doesn’t just promote quality sleep, it can also improve your overall health and wellbeing. Here’s what you need to know about making your nest a healthier place to rest.

Night-time nasties

According to Allergy UK, 59% of indoor allergy sufferers struggle in the bedroom.

‘On average, we shed pounds of skin a year in our beds and lose around half a pint of moisture while sleeping,’ says Lisa Artis, head of the Sleep Council.

And this means that even with freshly washed sheets and a good mattress, beds can be a breeding ground for bacteria and bugs, housing millions of invisible mites.

‘When people are allergic to dust, it’s dust mites or, to be precise, their waste, that’s the problem,’ says GP

Dr Gill Jenkins.

Most of us would be horrified to hear that between 100,000 and 10million dust mites could be living in our beds.*

✱ Spot the signs Look out for allergies triggered by your bed. Symptoms can appear as sneezing, itchy eyes, eczema, sinus issues and more serious respiratory problems.

✱ Beat the bugs There are several steps you can take to banish the bed pests and reduce the likelihood of allergy attacks.

✱ Cool the temperature Dust mites love warm, cosy rooms. ‘Keep your bedroom between 18-21C,’ suggests Dr Jenkins.

✱ Freshen up Air your bed each morning and wash bedding at 60% to eliminate the conditions under which mites thrive. When you strip the bed, vacuum your mattress with a High Efficiency Particulate (HEPA) filter vacuum cleaner – they are said to trap 99.97% of particles down to 0.3 microns in size.

✱ Choose anti-allergy bedding This means it has been treated and tested to combat mites. Look for products with the Allergy Uk/british Allergy Foundation ‘seal of approval’ – these have been lab-tested by experts.