Do you skip making your bed in the morning? Psychologists reveal what it says about your personality
Every morning we face a tiny decision: make the bed or leave it unmade? At first glance it seems trivial, but that choice can reveal quite a lot about how we think, how we manage our time and the kind of daily rhythm that suits us. How we treat the bed in those first minutes can help shape the rest of the day to match our needs.
How morning rituals steer automatic behaviour
Morning rituals act like a shortcut map for the brain, where near‑automatic actions — making coffee, opening a window, or checking your phone — kick off familiar chains of thought and decisions. These actions, including making the bed, aren’t just about tidiness. Leaving a bed unmade doesn’t necessarily mean someone is messy or lazy; it can simply show a preference for a gentler start and an aversion to being thrown into a state of “everything under control.”
What bed‑making says about personality (the Big Five)
Personality research links the habit of making the bed to certain traits in the Big Five (openness, conscientiousness, extraversion, agreeableness, neuroticism). Regular bed‑makers tend to score higher in conscientiousness — they favour order, planning and finishing tasks. They often score lower in openness to new experiences, which points to a taste for routine over novelty.
Studies also suggest habitual bed‑makers may show higher anxiety and lower extraversion, indicating a preference for clear boundaries and a more inward‑looking daily approach. These are tendencies, not hard rules about who someone is.
The bed as a mirror of your needs
How your bed looks after you wake up isn’t a moral test but a sign of the control and rhythm you need. A neatly made bed usually signals a desire for structure and ticking things off the list, while an unmade bed can stand for flexibility and focusing on broader priorities. A made bed is one example of “small morning wins” — completing a simple task can give a sense of achievement that helps push productivity further through the day.
How to tailor your morning routine
A short but steady morning routine can boost your sense of having control over the day. For some people, making the bed marks the shift from night to day and launches an active period. Others feel boxed in by routines and prefer to delay or skip them, finding calm in being flexible.
Approaches differ between morning “larks” and night “owls.” Larks, who tend to warm up slowly in the morning, might naturally make the bed, while owls, often rushing to catch up with the day, may leave it unmade. Both ways are fine if they fit a person’s natural rhythm.
Practical and hygienic points to consider
There are practical reasons to think about too. Overnight we give off moisture through sweat and breathing. Letting the duvet stay open for about 20 to 30 minutes after waking helps that moisture evaporate, making the bed less welcoming to dust mites (which thrive in heat and humidity). So letting the bed “breathe” can be good for both the bed and our health.
It’s worth changing bedding every 1 to 2 weeks for comfort and hygiene, aiming for relative humidity in the bedroom of around 40 to 50%, and getting some natural light into the room each day (even if it’s overcast). These habits help keep the bedroom pleasant and reduce dust build‑up.
Be flexible with your routine
Whether you make the bed straight away or leave it unmade shouldn’t be a source of guilt or a measure of your worth. Morning routines are tools to make life better, not tests of character. Be flexible: some days will call for a perfectly made bed, other days for a bit of creative chaos. The point is to use these rituals to boost mindfulness and comfort, not to force strict rules.
As the bed‑making debate continues in homes around the world, one thing is clear: this small morning choice can have a surprisingly large effect. Whether you’re a bed‑maker or not, knowing and respecting your own rhythm can make mornings — and the rest of the day — more enjoyable and satisfying.