Don’t Make Your Bed Day

Categories:: Fun
Tags:: Crazy Weird National
Where:: United States
Date change rule:: Every December 21
Holiday emoji:: 🛌

Don’t Make Your Bed Day, celebrated every December 21, offers a delightful excuse to skip a common morning chore. Embrace the freedom of leaving your bed unmade, and perhaps even discover the surprising science behind why it might be healthier. Take a break from perfection, reclaim a few extra minutes, and enjoy a truly relaxed start to your day.

Deals
Platforms
Social
Hero
History
Timeline
Businesses
FAQs
Importance
Celebrate
Related

Expected Don’t Make Your Bed Day Deals

While we wait for official 2027 promotions to drop, history shows that retailers often lean into comfort and relaxation themes around this time of year. Look for deals from bedding brands like Brooklinen and Parachute Home on luxurious sheets and duvet covers, encouraging a more relaxed approach to sleep. Home decor stores such as Pottery Barn and West Elm might offer discounts on cozy throws and pillows to enhance a lived-in look. Even mattress companies like Casper and Purple could feature sales on new beds, implying less need for meticulous daily tidying. We will update this page with confirmed live deals as December 21 approaches.

Platform Guide for Don’t Make Your Bed Day

TikTok

Tag @www.nationaltoday.com and use #DontMakeYourBedDay. Share a quick video of your gloriously unmade bed, or a humorous take on skipping chores.

Instagram

Tag @nationaltoday_ and use #DontMakeYourBedDay. Post a photo of your cozy, rumpled bed, or a reel showcasing your relaxed morning routine.

Facebook

Mention National Today (facebook.com/nationaltoday) and use #DontMakeYourBedDay. Ask friends how they’re celebrating by not making their beds.

Don’t Make Your Bed Day Hero

Dust Mites

While not a person, dust mites are tiny arachnids that thrive in warm, moist environments, such as a freshly made bed. Some scientific theories suggest that leaving a bed unmade allows moisture to evaporate, creating a drier, less hospitable environment for these microscopic creatures. This perspective offers a surprising, albeit unconventional, hero for Don't Make Your Bed Day, turning a lazy habit into a potential health benefit.

History of Don’t Make Your Bed Day

The world has an enterprising fifth-grader to thank for Don’t Make Your Bed Day. In 2014, Shannon Barba of Tijeras in New Mexico started a petition after every teen’s heart. Barba wrote how she had made her bed every day since she was four to make her parents proud. But she felt the chore was pointless and was getting increasingly sick of it.

Barba called for Don’t Make Your Bed Day on December 21. Why December 21? She reasoned that it was the shortest day of the year when people were likely to spend the least amount of time out of bed. If you’re anything like Barba, you know the joys of an unmade, messy bed. The petition may have gotten her out of a tedious chore, but it turns out she may have been on to something.

Despite the universal case for tidying beds, a research team from England’s King University urges people otherwise. Their studies show that leaving a bed unmade during the day can remove moisture from bedsheets. Mites thrive in moist conditions. When we tuck our beds in neatly, we inadvertently provide germs a safe space away from sunlight. Unmade beds expose bacteria to sunlight — eventually dehydrating and killing them.

What’s more, not making your bed in the morning doesn’t necessarily make you lazy. It just means you’re a different personality type. Psychologists believe that people who place no importance on this activity don’t like structure. They prefer not knowing what to expect to keep things interesting. Of course, there are proven benefits to making your bed each morning. It’s just a matter of deciding how important the task is to you.

Don’t Make Your Bed Day timeline

500 A.D.

Origins Of ‘Hit The Hay’

Most people sleep on a bag stuffed with hay on the floor — hence, the term ‘hit the hay.’

1800s

Cotton Sheets Make An Appearance

The cotton gin revolutionizes cotton production and ushers in an era of cotton sheets.

2005

The Case For Unmade Beds

Researchers in England believe unmade beds help kill bacteria and grime.

2013

Messiness And Creativity

Studies by researchers at the University of Minnesota find strong correlations between unruly spaces and creativity.

How Businesses Can Celebrate Don’t Make Your Bed Day

Local businesses can embrace Don’t Make Your Bed Day by promoting relaxation and self-care. Spas and wellness centers could offer ‘Unwind’ packages, encouraging clients to de-stress rather than focus on chores. Coffee shops might run a ‘Messy Morning’ special, giving a discount to customers who confess they didn’t make their bed. Bedding stores could create playful displays featuring artfully unmade beds, highlighting comfort over rigid tidiness and offering sales on cozy throws and pillows.

Don’t Make Your Bed Day FAQs

When is Don’t Make Your Bed Day?

Don’t Make Your Bed Day 2026 falls on Monday, December 21, offering a perfect start to a relaxed week, just before the holiday rush. It’s your official permission slip to skip the morning chore.

Is it healthier to not make your bed?

Some scientific theories suggest that leaving your bed unmade can actually be healthier. An unmade bed allows moisture to evaporate, creating a drier environment that is less hospitable for dust mites, which thrive in warm, damp conditions. This can potentially reduce allergen exposure.

How many people don't make their bed?

Surveys on bed-making habits vary, but estimates suggest a significant portion of the population, possibly around 30-40%, regularly leaves their bed unmade. This figure often includes those who simply don’t have time or see it as an unnecessary chore.

What are the arguments for and against making your bed?

Arguments for making your bed often cite a sense of accomplishment, a tidy room, and improved mental well-being. Against it, some point to the potential for reducing dust mites by airing out the bed, and the simple joy of saving time and effort.

How To Celebrate Don’t Make Your Bed Day

Don’t make your bed
Enjoy the glorious mess that is your bed today. Crumpled sheets? Scattered pillows? Let them and yourself be.
Sleep in
Save yourself the trouble of making your bed by just staying in it. If it’s cold out, take today to snuggle in for some extra, much-needed snooze time.
Read books on messiness
Are you feeling guilty about a messy bed? Read books about how a little chaos is good for you. There are several reasons — both anecdotal and backed by research.

5 Facts About Bed Sheets That Will Blow Your Mind

How authentic is your Egyptian cotton?
Most of the Egyptian cotton bed sheets sold worldwide are fake.
Avoid certain labels
Don’t buy labels that say ‘easy care,’ ‘wrinkle-free,’ or ‘permanent press’ since these fabrics probably contain toxins.
Hemp leads the way
Hemp sheets work with body temperatures to keep you cool in summer and warm in winter.
Bed sheets impact our health
The wrong fabric can cause infections, itchy skin, or induce sleepless nights.
Never go by thread count
Instead, look at fiber length — the longer the thread, the better.

Why We Love Don’t Make Your Bed Day

Oh, to be carefree for once
Don’t Make Your Bed Day tells us it’s okay not to be perfect all the time. The way we see it, messy beds are signs that we’re only human after all.
Imperfect ‘hygge’
In a world obsessed with living for the Gram, messy beds say otherwise. ‘Life is messy.’ Unmade beds embrace this reality, making homes better and cozier for it.
Deviation from routine
Not making your bed can be a small but significant break from routine. It helps if you’re someone who can’t function without to-do lists and are looking to change things up.