Making your bed may feel satisfying or give your morning a simple structure, but research has not established that the habit itself improves mental health. It has not been shown to prevent or treat depression, anxiety, or insomnia. Evidence linking better sleep with mental health is relevant, but it does not prove that bed-making changes sleep or produces those benefits.
Does making your bed help with depression or anxiety?
There is no direct evidence in the sources cited here that making a bed improves depression or anxiety. Some people may find the task satisfying, calming, or useful as a small routine. Those are possible individual experiences, not demonstrated clinical effects or benefits everyone should expect.
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It is important to distinguish a habit that feels helpful from a treatment. Making your bed should not be presented as a way to prevent, relieve, or treat depression or anxiety, and it should not replace professional support or care.
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What sleep research can—and cannot—tell us
Sleep interventions and mental health
A 2021 meta-analysis of 65 randomized trials, covering 72 interventions and 8,608 participants, found that interventions that improved sleep quality also improved composite mental health and several specific outcomes. Reported effects included depression, anxiety, rumination, and stress. The interventions studied were sleep-improving treatments—not making a bed—so their results cannot be used to claim a mental-health effect from bed-making. Freeman et al., 2021.
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Sleep regularity
Observational research has associated more regular sleep timing with lower risk of depression and anxiety. An association does not show that one factor causes the other, and the finding does not establish that making a bed improves sleep regularity or mental health. Regular sleep patterns, not just duration, critical for mental health, 2025.
Sleep advice is not evidence for bed-making
The National Institute of Mental Health’s general self-care guidance says, “Stick to a schedule, and make sure you’re getting enough sleep.” It does not specifically recommend making your bed. NIMH, Caring for Your Mental Health.
A randomized study of 55 adolescents with chronic sleep reduction combined gradual sleep extension with sleep-hygiene advice and found reduced depressive symptoms. Because the components were combined, the study could not identify the separate contribution of sleep-hygiene advice; it did not test bed-making. de Bruin et al., 2015.
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1Repair Windows errors before they cause bigger problems2Fix the driver behind crashes, sound loss and screen glitches3Clear out junk files and repair common Windows errorsIs making your bed a treatment for insomnia?
No. For adults with chronic insomnia, the American Academy of Sleep Medicine conditionally recommends against using sleep hygiene as a single-component treatment. Sleep-hygiene measures may form part of a broader, multicomponent approach, but a tidy bedroom routine is not a stand-alone insomnia treatment. AASM guideline, 2021. If insomnia is persistent, seek appropriate clinical advice rather than relying on bed-making or general sleep-hygiene tips alone.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.How to think about the habit in everyday life
If making your bed feels pleasant or helps mark the start of your day, you can keep it as a personal routine. It is also reasonable to skip it if it adds stress, takes energy you need elsewhere, or simply does not matter to you. There is no established mental-health requirement to make your bed.
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- Reasonable expectation: you may personally enjoy the small task or find it gives your morning structure.
- Not established: that the task itself improves sleep, reduces anxiety or depression, or prevents a mental-health condition.
- For ongoing symptoms: use evidence-based mental-health or sleep care instead of treating bed-making as a substitute.
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