Making your bed is something we’re told to do as kids. Now that you rule your own life, why bother? It turns out, there are some really great reasons to make your bed in the morning. And most have nothing to do with how other people see your bed.
Let’s say it’s dinner time, you’re hungry, and it’s time to make a meal. You walk into the kitchen and, miraculously, it is completely clean. Clear countertops, washed dishes, and all your utensils back where they are supposed to go. It’s a relief if someone else cleaned the kitchen. But if you did yourself this favor the night before, then it’s an incredible, empowering feeling and sense of accomplishment to charge into a pristine kitchen ready to cook whatever lies ahead.
Making your bed is like starting and ending your day like that every single day. Believe it or not, there are some serious psychological benefits to making your bed. It’s not just about straightening the covers and making it look nice. Making your bed is your first good decision in the morning with a reward that comes back to you every night. Today we’re diving into the psychological, emotional, and logistical benefits of making your bed in the mornings.
Either you rule your mornings or the morning rules you, no matter if your morning people or not. We all know that ‘drag yourself out of bed’ feeling a couple of minutes after the alarm goes off. A sluggish wakeup can drag into everything you do. You eat breakfast slowly. You drag yourself to school or work. You half-doze through morning tasks. If you want to take one step toward being that person who snags some toast and goes for a morning run, just make your bed.
Why? Because it’s your first and best way to take charge of the morning. Instead of drifting out of bed, covers dragging behind you, take command! Tell your body to straighten those covers and your body will obey. It is taking a sense of pride in how you want to be for the day to come. From there, you are the captain, not your sleepy brain. From making your bed, you’ll remember to rock out in the shower instead of standing in the hot water like a sleep zombie. From there, you’ll eat breakfast with more energy, move faster in your morning routine, and be ready to take charge of everything else that crosses your path that day.
Have you ever noticed that people with clean houses tend to be efficient and tidy thinkers as well? This is because cleaning is a form of organizational meditation. When you ‘put things right’ in your room and in your house, you also neatly arrange thoughts in your mind. You are taking control of your environment, but in a gentle way by putting everything where it belongs. Each motion reminds you to think more logically about your choices, your day, and the constant elements in your life.
In other words, making your bed each morning is a form of self-organizing meditation. If you want to be more organized, well-reasonsed, and calm in the day ahead, making your bed is a meditative way to bring order to your thoughts first thing in the morning.
As people, we affect the world around us and are carried along by the world at the same time. Some people feel empowered, some people feel helpless in their circumstances. Making your bed is taking that first step toward empowerment by affecting the world around you in an active and positive way. You can’t telekinetically summon a water glass, but you can physio-kinetically fluff your pillow, arrange your sheets and blankets, and tuck in the corners.
If you can affect your bed, what else can you affect? People who make their beds in the morning are more likely to reach out and affect the rest of the world around them. Don’t like how the coffee pot is angled at work? Nudge that sucker. Find a squeaky door that irritates you? Come back with a little oil or a screwdriver to tighten the hinges. The world is your oyster and every little action you take can make your experience just that much better.
Some care profoundly about how the home looks inside, and these people tend to be DIY interior decorators at home. Maybe you are that person in your friend group. Making your bed in this mindset is about keeping the home feeling complete and beautiful. If this motivates you, then making your bed can actually serve as a little boost of daily m motivation. Making your bed with the matching pillows and bedspread can remind you how much good design and organization you’ve already done and motivate you to keep your home in the state that makes you happiest.
Or if this person is your romantic partner, making the bed will show that you care about their happiness inside the home.
Last but certainly not least is the wonderful feeling of going to bed in a bed that’s made. Daily bed-making includes straightening the sheets and blankets. In the process, you arrange your throw pillow and pillows where you like them and make sure to tuck or untuck the corners as you prefer. You make the bed look tidy but it’s also tidier through-and-through.
When bedtime comes around and you’re tired, that made bed can look like an inviting paradise meaning it wasn’t a waste of time earlier to make your bed. Instead of the rumple of covers you arose from, it beckons like the feathery hotel beds in vacation commercials. Just having a straight quilt and fluffed pillows can make that first flop or snuggle into bed absolutely perfect.
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Not only does making the bed make you feel powerful at the beginning of the day, you’ve also made your bed more enjoyable for when you’re tired at the end of the day. When you’re ready to collapse between clean sheets, they are arranged and waiting for you without any surprise socks under the covers. Your pillows are in the perfect place and your covers wrap you up in a cozy cocoon without the usual rumpled struggle.
Why make your bed every day? Long story short, it just makes every day better and create keystone habits for your day to go well. For more great insights on how to get better sleep, curl up cozier, how good sleep boosts your immune system, and make your blankets beautiful (and other fun topics related to bedtime and naps) contact us! Looking for a wonderful new blanket for your bed, couch, or nursery? Check out our online store!
