Does making your bed really change your life?

A woman making her bed. 

Growing up, Joseph Mwaniki remembers having altercations with his mother over not making his bed in the morning.

His mother would demonstrate how to make his bed, which she did with "attention to detail", a lesson he never seemed to pick up. It was not just throwing the blankets (there were no duvets then) over the bed, but you had to do it to her standard and satisfaction. She would whisper that a streamlined bed would make her proud.

"The bed-making regime started when I was four years old, and for the next two years, mum was patient with me and my routine of getting it right for one week and getting it wrong for the next two weeks," says Mwaniki.

He says sometimes he would throw tantrums, reminding her mother that he was a boy, and making a bed was not a boy’s duty.

Mwaniki, now 46, says that that little act of making a bed and the thrashing he got from his mother instilled discipline in him. By age seven, he swears, he became better at bed-making than his mother. 

When his three brothers were born in quick succession, he says, the responsibility of ensuring they made their beds were transferred to him. He performed this duty with precision.

“We became experts in bed-making right into our adulthood and onto our married lives," he says perfecting the art of making his bed is why he is orderly at home,  the office, and his life.

The father of two boys and a girl, aged three,  six, and nine years, says he is grateful to his mother for instilling bed-making discipline in him, something many people think is an irrelevant waste of time task.

According to Fiona Wangare, making the bed wastes time "because you just need to crawl back in each night". Yet studies show that establishing reliable routines is key to many aspects of life, including physical and mental health.

Does a streamlined bed do more than just tidy up — and make your parents proud?

William McRaven in his motivational book titled 'Make Your Bed: Little Things That Can Change Your Life, And Maybe the World', emphasises the importance of setting small goals, taking risks, and persevering through challenges, all while making your bed each morning.

The book shares life lessons from Navy training,

“If you can't do the little things right, you will never do the big things right, because, if by chance you have a miserable day, you will come home to sleep on a dressed bed — that you made — and a made bed encourages you that tomorrow will be better. If you want to change the world, start by making your bed,” goes McRaven’s famous quote about making your bed.

Mwaniki says the fights with his mother about making his bed ceased later in high school when he learnt that building a habit like bed-making can help to establish a healthy schedule. 

The benefits may spill over into many aspects of life, such as executive function, emotional regulation, productivity, and sleep.

"I learnt to effectively link the bed-making activity to brushing my teeth, which I did every morning and then following it up to make my bed," he says.

When it came to instilling the bed-making discipline to his siblings, he resorted to either posting a note on the wall or setting a reminder on the phone.

Author McRaven writes that making the bed is about setting an intention to do the little things that bring about an orderly, thoughtful, responsible, balanced, and successful life, in addition to providing a quick sense of daily accomplishment, with some people finding making the bed calming. 

According to Christopher Mugambi, an army corporal, making your bed is among the first things people are taught at military school or in scouting, something most parents nag their children to do. 

"However, making your bed can impact your overall well-being," says Corporal Mugambi. 

He says the discipline and order instilled in making your bed can set the tone for success in other areas of your life, creating an environment that supports focus and well-being. 

McRaven conclusively says making your bed might seem like a simple, mundane task, but it is not as it holds more significance than meets the eye. “It's a foundational step that builds a mindset of accountability and achievement”.