The place where you sleep at night should be as healthy as possible and for this reason the cleanliness of the bed is of primary importance.
In addition to sheets and pillowcases, the clothes you wear should also be and therefore designed to be worn only at that time of day and not outside.
In fact, falling asleep in the clothes you used during the day can bring with it various unpleasant consequences for your health.
Consequences of going to sleep in outdoor clothes
Unless you spend your days in sterile environments, the clothes you wear to work, the grocery store, or any other daily activity pick up the germs found in busy places . This always happens, even when it feels like entering clean environments like the office or a friend’s house, since every place is animated by these invisible beings.
Once germs and bacteria attach themselves to clothing fabrics they don’t go away until washed. According to a 2020 research published in the journal GMS Hygiene and Infection Control they would be able to resist about 90 days on cotton fabrics and more than 200 days on polyester.
Obviously in the vast majority of cases these are not extremely dangerous particles but there is no doubt that their permanence near the body makes it very probable that from the garment they can quickly infect the person wearing them, especially if the contact is rather prolonged, such as when you sleep. Not to mention that germs and bacteria can also transfer to sheets and pillowcases and therefore continue their action for several days.
Wearing used clothes during the day even during the night therefore means increasing the chances of getting sick. The risk of infection is higher if you have a weakened immune system but no one is immune from the possibility of getting sick from sleeping in dirty clothes.
Beware of allergies
But pathologies due to germs are not the only negative health consequences that can be incurred if you go to bed with the clothes used during the day.
If you suffer from seasonal allergies , pollen that sticks to your clothes while outdoors can trigger nocturnal attacks that disrupt your sleep or congest your respiratory system . For this reason, the experts at the American College of Allergy, Asthma, & Immunology advise anyone suffering from pollen allergies not only to sleep in clean clothes but also to quickly take off their outdoor clothes once they enter the house and a shower to eliminate residual particles.
What to do as soon as you get home
Changing at the end of the day is the best solution and, if possible, it is better to wash the clothes before wearing them again, so as not to expose yourself to any lingering germs the following days.
Even your waking hours’ housewear should not be the same as what you wear when you get into bed. Although the house in which you live is presumably clean, germs and bacteria are still present, albeit in smaller numbers.
For this, it is good to change once you enter the house, wearing comfortable clothes, but do it again before slipping under the covers .
What to wear to sleep
Once it has been established that for hygienic reasons it is better to wear different clothes at different times of the day, it is good to try to understand what is better to dress for bed.
In fact, there are different schools of thought, there are those who prefer to sleep in classic pajamas , those with only underwear and those who are completely naked .
According to science, there is no single answer because much depends on the conditions of the place in which one remarries.
Ideally the body shouldn’t be exposed to temperatures above 20 degrees, so if the room is already quite warm it’s best not to add additional elements. Not to mention that sleeping naked or only with underwear gives a feeling of freshness which, especially in the summer, can help you sleep better . Be careful, however, when choosing briefs, which should always be made of cotton so that the skin can breathe and avoid irritation.
Conversely, if it ‘s cold , it’s better to cover yourself with pajamas , even if in this case the same rule applies as for clothes: it must be clean . According to various surveys, most people wear the same one even for two weeks in a row, convinced that by using it only to sleep it stays clean. In reality, even if this is partly the case, during the night the dead skin cells , sweat and mites that may be present on the sheets slowly contribute to making it dirty and for this reason it is always better not to prolong use too much but change it with regularity.
Daniel J. Brown
Daniel J. Brown (Editor-in-Chief) is a recently retired data analyst who gets a kick out of reading and writing the news. He enjoys good music, great food, and sports, with a slant towards Southern college football, basketball and professional baseball.