Rhianna Benson
A doctor has claimed the chore of making your bed straight away each morning is actually doing you more harm than good.
But before readers get too excited, Dr Sermed Mezher claims his dubious declaration comes after a pretty stomach-wrenching discovery between the sheets.
Think back to your younger years - your mum wakes you up in the morning and you drag yourself to school. Sitting in the car on the way to the bus stop, she asks, 'Did you remember to make your bed?'.
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Unless you were a goody two-shoes, you either lie and await the earful you'll receive when you arrive home that evening, or you simply admit that no, you haven't made your bed.
Now, however, in an unexpected turning of events, a registered GP has used his platform to seemingly stand up for disobedient youngsters across the globe by insisting that making their beds straight away could actually be detrimental to their health.
Taking to TikTok, Dr Mezher said: "If your mum taught you to make your bed in the morning, she was wrong.
"That's because, even if you don't have a partner, you're never sleeping alone."
The medic continued: "See, our beds contain millions of these dust mites that feast on our flesh overnight.
"They love warm, moist environments which, as we sweat, we help to create."
He went on: "So, when we generously make our beds in the morning, we kindly lock in that moisture for them, so that they can survive and reproduce waiting for us the next night."
The GP went on to explain that excessive dust mite exposure can 'trigger allergies' in some sleepers, which could lead them to present 'random rashes and sometimes even respiratory symptoms' without them knowing the cause.
Addressing how we can 'thin these lines' from home, Dr Mezher advised: "Leaving our beds unmade for 30 minutes in the morning can help to remove excess moisture and limit dust mite growth.
"We can help stop this happening by changing our bed sheets every week, and ideally not longer than every two weeks."
He then went on to reveal the horrifying truth that 'some of my patients don't change their sheets even for six months'.
Anyone else feeling itchy?
In the caption, Dr Mezher penned a lengthy conclusion: "Allowing the bed to air out for a while before making it can help reduce moisture levels, making the environment less hospitable for dust mites.
"The circulation of fresh air helps evaporate the trapped sweat and reduce the heat, slowing down dust mite reproduction.
"In contrast, regularly making the bed right after getting up can accelerate the build-up of dust mites, as they thrive in the warm, damp microclimate created by closed-off bedding."