The pillow plays a crucial role in your overall comfort and quality of sleep. It supports our head and neck while we sleep and greatly affects our feeling every morning. The pillowcase comes into direct contact with the face and hair, so it also affects both your health and beauty.
Why should you regularly wash your pillowcase?
Health experts recommend washing the pillowcase at least once a week. If you are wondering why you should regularly wash your pillowcase, read the following information about the hazards of a dirty pillowcase and the problems you can avoid by keeping your pillow clean.
According to Mary Gagliardi, a Canadian cleaning scientist, washing the pillowcase regularly is mandatory and should be done at least once a week.
While sleeping, your body will shed thousands of dead skin cells. Sweat and dead skin cells create an ideal environment for dust mites to grow. Their waste has allergenic properties. If you don’t change your pillowcase regularly, these things accumulate and can cause many diseases such as asthma, rhinitis, itchy eyes, and dermatitis.
Even if you have thoroughly cleansed your face, certain residues will still remain on your face, clinging to the pillow and remaining there until the pillowcase is washed clean.
If you use skincare products at night, the amount of cosmetics clinging to the pillowcase will be even greater. They combine with sweat and oil from the face and scalp, creating a favorable environment for bacteria and yeast to thrive, which can cause skin irritation and make the face more prone to breakouts.
If you don’t change your pillowcase for a long time, the bacteria and dust mites clinging to it will release allergenic and suffocating gases, affecting your sleep and making you feel exhausted every morning. That’s why you should regularly wash your pillowcase.
How often should you change your pillow insert?
Nancy Rothstein, a sleep expert in the US, provides a way for you to determine whether your pillow insert needs to be discarded: “If your pillow at home is made of latex, try folding it in half. If the pillow cannot bounce back to its original shape, then it’s time for you to get rid of it.”
Meanwhile, TS Michael Breus, also a sleep psychologist, advises: “If your pillow is stuffed with synthetic fiber, you should replace it every 6 months. With pillows made from memory foam or any type of body-supporting pillow, you should replace them after about 18-36 months.”
In addition, you can determine when to change your pillow insert based on your own feelings. A good pillow should fill the gap between the neck and shoulders. If your current pillow cannot do this or makes you feel pain in your shoulders and neck every time you wake up, then it’s time to replace it.
However, even if the pillow is not flattened and still looks good on the outside, you should still pay attention to replacing it and not use it for years on end. The pillow is an item that you come into contact with every day, even pressing your face on it to breathe. After a period of use, it will accumulate dirt, dead skin cells, bacteria, and dust… which are very harmful to your health.
If you can’t remember exactly the advice from experts on how often to change your pillow insert, you should default to replacing it every 1-2 years and never use the pillow insert for more than 3 years. Wash and air-dry the pillow insert when there is strong sunlight every 3 months.
According to VTC.