Bedding expert shares how often you should be washing your sheets for ‘good hygiene’

The average person spends about 26 years sleeping in their life which equates to a whopping 9,490 days – or one-third of a lifetime.

Sleep is surprisingly important as it helps to boost people’s mental and physical well-being and can impact immunity and weight, according to Dreams.

The average person sleeps less than seven hours each night, according to the National Institutes of Health, so it’s important our bedding is comfortable and clean.

One question that has been hotly disputed over the years is how often bedding should be washed.

Some experts claim sheets need to be washed once a fortnight, while others claim more than once a week is necessary.

With this in mind, Gareth Coxall, marketing and creative director at Terrys Fabrics said bedding should be changed “once a week”.

He explained exclusively to Express.co.uk: “In most cases, bedding should be changed once a week (at most every two weeks).

“Bedsheets accumulate dead skin, dust and dirt you cannot see, making washing them regularly important for good hygiene.

“You might consider washing them more than once a week if you allow your pet to sleep on the bed, if the summer heat is causing you to sweat excessively, or if you’ve consumed any food in bed.”

If bedding isn’t washed regularly, germs and even dust mutes can build up as well as sweat, oils and bacteria.

Not washing bedding can also contribute to allergies, skin break outs and even asthma among sufferers.

People who suffer from allergies, have an infection or illness, sleep with no clothes on or go to bed without showering should wash their sheets more frequently.

Pillows can also be full of bacteria and need to be washed every three months on a hot wash to kill germs.

In fact, some studies have shown that a third of the weight of a pillow could be due to dead skin, dust mites and other bugs.

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