You may not have given much thought to your bed sheets, other than to chuck them in the wash every so often.

Well, it turns out that leaving it too long between washes may not be a wise idea.

The team at BusinessInsider spoke to microbiologist Philip Tierno from New York University about proper bed sheet etiquette.

And he says you should be washing your sheets once a week.

And no, just turning them inside out doesn’t count.

Turns out that all the sweat and moisture we produce while sleeping creates an ‘ideal fungal culture medium’ that, according to Tierno turns our beds into a ‘botanical park’ for bacteria and fungus.

It’s also joined by other microbes in the air, like dust, pollen and lint.

And while a little bit of bacteria isn’t so bad, Tierno says it only takes a week for enough to accumulate that it can trigger allergic responses.

‘Even if you don’t have allergies per se, you can have an allergic response,’ the clinical professor told the site.

According to research by online bed retailer Time 4 Sleep, only 28% of Brits change their bed sheets once a week. Meanwhile, 40% change their sheets every fortnight and 24% change them once every three or four weeks.

Click and read more here:http://jumiaforum.com/listing/reasons-why-you-should-wash-your-bed-sheets-often/