How often do you change your PJs? The truth is, most of us don't do it nearly often enough.
According to the Daily Mail, men wait an average of 13 days to change their jammies, and women wait a stunning 17 days on average.
If those stats make your skin crawl, there's a good reason: A pair of pajamas gets dirty fast. We should really be changing our nightwear every single day.
Plenty of people avoid the problem entirely by sleeping in the nude. Meanwhile, many others are apparently very comfortable with spending two weeks at a time in the same pajamas.
It's about time we break that habit. Wearing the same PJs for days on end is actually very unhygienic. Consider buying some cute new ones so you can switch them up regularly.
We had no idea how much germy grossness is hiding in those flannel folds. Now, we have to acknowledge that there's some seriously icky stuff that can happen when you keep wearing one pair of jammies for days in a row.
Here's why you need to change your PJs every day.
Reason To Change Your PJs #1: Staph Infections
Most people carry a small amount of staph bacteria on their skin. It's a very common microbe that we pick up on our skin, in our noses, and in our mouths, usually without consequences.
However, if you wear the same piece of fabric over and over again, staph bacteria will start to collect in your PJs and thrive.
Eventually, these growing colonies of staph can get inside the skin via cuts, ingrown hairs, or other breaks in the body's natural defense system.
Washing and changing PJs frequently helps kill off staph, and prevent painful and potentially life-threatening infections.
Reason To Change Your PJs #2: Pimples And Cysts
Pimples are always unpleasant. They're even worse if you know that they could have been prevented.
When you don't change your pajamas, all sorts of bacteria, oil, and dead skin cells start to build up in the fabric. All of that gunk is pressed right up against your pores all night long.
That leads to your pores getting blocked and infected, which turns into unsightly and painful pimples, and even deep infected sebaceous cysts, according to WebMD.
Pimples and cysts also make excellent entry points for other bacteria and viruses you might have on your skin.
Reason To Change Your PJs #3: Dust Mites
Dust mites are tiny, microscopic creatures that live in every home. You can't get rid of them completely, but you should definitely do everything you can to get them out of your bed and sleeping area.
Dust mites love to eat dead skin, so they're attracted to your bed and pajamas, which are full of all the dead skin cells you shed during your sleep.
Dirty pajamas draw in even more dust mites, which can contribute to respiratory problems, especially while you're sleeping.
Reason To Change Your PJs #4: Bad Odors
We all know that not showering or keeping your body clean can lead to bad odors. In order to banish icky odors for good, you also have to make sure your pajamas are clean.
Dirty PJs tend to absorb sweat during the night, and bacteria that flourishes in moist, dark spots starts to grow and create foul odors, like BO.
If you shower at night and then climb into dirty jammies, you're undoing your work and giving those bad-smelling bacteria an opportunity to colonize your body.
Reason To Change Your PJs #5: Not-So-Fresh Feeling
Wearing dirty pajamas at night might also make you feel grimy in the morning, particularly if you're someone who showers at night.
Waking up and immediately changing out of your nightclothes and into your workwear can be an unpleasant feeling, like tracking dirt into a clean house.
According to Good Housekeeping, that's because during the night, you're absorbing whatever is on your pajamas into your skin. If your nightwear is dirty, you'll feel dirty, too.
Reason To Change Your PJs #6: Sleepless Nights
Sleeping in clean pajamas makes you feel refreshed, cozy, and totally ready to drop off to sleep.
By contrast, sleeping in dirty jammies can keep you up at night, because you feel itchy or oily, or just not quite comfy in your pajamas.
In addition, attracting dust mites in the night can impact your nighttime respiration. This leads to snoring and other sleep interruptions.
Reason To Change Your PJs #7: Bad Allergies
Sleeping in used pajamas can lead to a serious jump in allergies. If you're allergic to dust, it's a good idea for you to switch out your pajamas at least every other day.
Dust allergies, asthma, and other respiratory disorders are already worse at night, because it's just harder to breathe when you're lying down.
Adding the build-up of dust mites and dead skin cells into the mix makes it even worse, and ups the change of a bad allergic reaction or asthma attack.
Reason To Change Your PJs #8: More Bugs
When you wear dirty pajamas, you are asking your immune system to fight off a constant onslaught of staph bacteria, upper respiratory complications, and pimple-causing germs and oils. All of those factors weaken your body's defenses overall.
That means that you're generally more likely to get sick. So if you pick up that stomach bug or case of flu you've been dreading, your PJs might be to blame.
If you were fascinated and grossed out to learn about the impact of your PJs on your health, be sure to SHARE with friends and family!
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