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6 creepy ways your bedroom can make you sick

Dust mites and lingering viruses are just two health hazards. Use these tips to make a clean sweep.

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The average adult spends approximately 3,000 hours in their beds every year. But do you know whether or not your bedroom is “healthy?” Most people don’t.

“Your environment is very important for the quality of sleep you get,” says sleep center liaison, Barb Schulze, RRT, CSE, of Mercy Health Saint Mary’s Sleep Center in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Whether you see it orShow More

dust mite
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Dust mites

Dust mites are naturally occurring, microscopic bugs that feed off of our dead skin flakes. While they don’t bite, their remains and waste products are major allergy and asthma triggers affecting some 20 million Americans. Dust mites can be found anywhere, but in your bedroom they’re commonly foundShow More

girl with bed bug bites
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Bed bugs

These hard-to-detect parasitic, wingless insects subsist only on the blood of humans and pets and make their homes any place close to where people sleep. They can be found in upholstered furniture, bedding and mattresses, and are typically carried from place to place as people travel—they love toShow More

dog
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Pet dander

Snuggling up with your pet each night is great, but if you’re allergic to pet dander, that along with harmless substances in your pet’s urine or saliva could cause allergic reactions. Dander can be especially aggravating at night since it collects on bedding, upholstered furniture andShow More

tissues in bed
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Cold and flu germs

You can’t see germs from last week’s cold hiding in your bed. But if you didn’t change your sheets after you started to feel better, you could be producing an environment for viruses to grow and infect someone else, says Schulze. The CDC says that even the flu virus can stay alive on some surfacesShow More

woman in bed with back pain
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Wrong Mattress

Whether your mattress is long overdue for replacement or doesn’t provide the right kind of support, it can be a source of pain and poor quality sleep. A mattress that’s too soft can cause as many problems as one that’s too firm, resulting in low back pain, shoulder pain and stiffness. According toShow More

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Problem Pillows

The wrong kind of pillow can literally give you a pain in the neck. The purpose of sleeping with a pillow is to keep your head aligned over your shoulders as if you were standing: your head shouldn’t jut forward or back, but support the natural curve of your neck. If you sleep on your back and theShow More

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