Some people can’t leave the house without making their bed. Others barely give their messy sheets a second thought. For the first group, straightening the pillows, pulling up the comforter, and smoothing the blankets are simply part of starting the day.
But could this ordinary household habit reveal something about how people approach the rest of their lives?
Several surveys have found interesting differences between people who regularly make their beds and those who don’t. From morning routines to feelings of accomplishment, the findings suggest that this small chore sometimes goes hand in hand with other everyday behaviors.
Of course, making your bed doesn’t automatically make you more successful, organized, or productive. The research identifies associations rather than proving that one habit causes another. Still, the connections are worth exploring.
Here are five things people who regularly make their beds often have in common, according to survey findings.
They’re More Likely to Enjoy Getting Up Early
Some people jump out of bed ready to tackle the day. Others need several alarms and plenty of time before they’re ready to face the morning. Interestingly, regular bed makers appear more likely to belong to the first group.
A survey commissioned by Sleepopolis and conducted by OnePoll asked 2,000 Americans about their bed-making habits.
According to the published survey findings, people who made their beds were more likely to describe themselves as morning people and report waking up without an alarm.
Meanwhile, those who didn’t regularly make their beds were more likely to identify as night owls and use the snooze button.
The connection makes practical sense. Someone who naturally enjoys getting up early may have more time or motivation to tidy their bedroom before beginning other activities.
However, the findings don’t prove that making your bed will transform you into an early riser. A night owl can enjoy a tidy bedroom just as much as someone who wakes up at sunrise. The interesting part is how bed-making appears to fit into an existing morning routine.
They Tend to Follow More Organized Daily Routines
Have you ever noticed how some people seem to have a system for everything? Their mornings follow a familiar rhythm. Household chores have their own schedules, and they enjoy planning ahead rather than making every decision at the last minute.
Making the bed may be one small expression of that preference for structure. A 2019 survey conducted for Best Mattress Brand examined the habits of 1,000 participants, including 500 people who made their beds and 500 who didn’t.
As reported by Apartment Therapy, regular bed makers were more likely to describe themselves as people who followed routines, maintained their homes, and enjoyed organizing and planning.
That doesn’t necessarily mean they had spotless houses or perfectly arranged schedules. Instead, the findings suggest that bed-making may belong to a larger collection of everyday habits.
For example, someone who enjoys making their bed might also prefer preparing clothes the night before, keeping a shopping list, or organizing household responsibilities in advance.
These are illustrative examples, not additional findings from the survey. The distinction matters because researchers haven’t established that making a bed creates an organized personality. It may simply be something people who already enjoy structure are more likely to do.
They’re More Likely to Feel Accomplished at the End of the Day
There’s something satisfying about finishing a small task before the day has properly begun. Making the bed may take only a few minutes, but it provides an immediate visible result. The blankets are straight, the pillows are arranged, and the bedroom looks more put together.
For some people, that small sense of completion fits naturally into a broader preference for getting things done. The 2019 Best Mattress Brand survey found that nearly three-quarters of regular bed makers reported feeling accomplished at the end of the day.
By comparison, 50% of non-bed makers reported the same feeling. The survey also found that 82% of bed makers believed completing a small task helped them remain productive throughout the day.
That doesn’t prove making the bed causes a satisfying day. Still, the findings reveal something interesting about how respondents viewed small accomplishments.
For someone who enjoys checking tasks off a list, making the bed can be an easy way to begin their routine with something finished. And unlike bigger projects that may require hours of attention, this particular chore offers an immediate result.
They Often Consider Themselves More Productive at Work
Here’s where the findings become especially interesting. Could the person who carefully straightens their sheets also be someone who feels more productive during the workday?
According to the same 2019 survey, regular bed makers gave themselves higher ratings on certain measures of workplace productivity. As reported by CNBC Make It, 34% of bed makers described themselves as very productive at work.
Among people who didn’t make their beds, approximately one-fifth gave themselves that rating. Another 58% of bed makers described themselves as productive, compared with 63% of non-bed makers.
The survey also found that 76% of bed makers said their work quality was always the best they could achieve, compared with 68% of those who didn’t regularly make their beds. Those differences are intriguing, but there’s an important limitation.
The survey measured how people described their productivity. It didn’t independently measure completed assignments, workplace performance, promotions, or earnings.
In other words, bed makers tended to rate themselves more positively in some areas, but that doesn’t establish that they actually performed better at work.
Making your bed also isn’t a shortcut to career success. The more reasonable interpretation is that people who enjoy completing small routines may also view themselves as productive in other areas of life.
They’re More Likely to Report Consistently Good Sleep
One of the most unexpected findings concerns what happens at night rather than in the morning. A tidy bed may be associated with how people feel about their sleep, although the relationship isn’t as straightforward as it sounds.
The National Sleep Foundation’s Bedroom Poll, publicized in 2011, surveyed 1,500 American adults between the ages of 25 and 55.
The results showed that 44% of respondents whose beds were made every day or almost every day reported getting a good night’s sleep every night or almost every night.
Among people whose beds were made less frequently, that figure was 37%. That’s a seven-percentage-point difference. It doesn’t mean making your bed guarantees better sleep, and the survey didn’t establish that bed-making caused the difference.
There’s another detail worth remembering: the questionnaire asked whether respondents or someone else made the bed. That means the research wasn’t exclusively measuring people who personally completed the chore each morning.
Still, the findings suggest an interesting relationship between bedroom routines and people’s reported sleep experiences. For some households, making the bed may simply be one part of maintaining a bedroom environment they find comfortable and welcoming.
Does Making Your Bed Actually Change Your Personality?
With all these survey findings, it might be tempting to conclude that making your bed is the secret to becoming more organized, productive, and successful.
But the evidence doesn’t go that far. The studies discussed here were observational surveys conducted in different years. They compared groups of people who already had different habits.
They didn’t randomly assign participants to start making their beds and then demonstrate improvements in personality, job performance, or sleep.
Some findings also came from commercially sponsored surveys with limited publicly available methodological details. That means there are several possible explanations for the differences.
Perhaps people who enjoy routines are naturally more likely to make their beds. Maybe work schedules or household arrangements influence both bed-making and other daily habits.
It’s also possible that the act of completing a small chore feels satisfying to some individuals without creating broader changes in their lives.
Most importantly, skipping this task doesn’t mean someone is lazy, irresponsible, or unsuccessful. People have different schedules, preferences, and household responsibilities. A neatly made bed is not a reliable personality test.
