Here are all the gross ways your mattress might be affecting your health
This is why you should really think about changing what you snuggle up on every night if it's more than eight years old
IT'S easy to lose track of how long you've had the mattress on your bed - especially if you're living in rented accommodation where it came with the property.
But you'd be wise to find out, as the age of what you snuggle up on every night could be having a harmful effect on your health.
According to British mattress brand , what you currently sleep on is likely to contain more than half a stone of dead skin cells.
And feeding on those yummy cells are thousands of dust mites. Nice!
The recommended lifespan of a mattress is eight years - that's an average of 20,761 hours in bed - but according to research the majority of Brits will continue sleeping on theirs for a lot longer.
Hyde and Sleep has recently launched a campaign to raise awareness of the potential impact on our health of using a mattress way past its best.
While this seems like a clever ploy to flog more mattresses, their research makes for some interesting - and concerning - reading.
According to the company, sleeping on a mattress past its sell-by-date can lead to poor sleep, asthma and eczema.
In eight years we shed an average of 4.84kg of dead skin cells - the same weight as a miniature dachshund.
While the skin cells aren’t a problem on their own, they are a feeding ground for dust mites which cause asthma and eczema.
It’s the allergen part of the dust mite which is dangerous.
A minuscule amount of dust mite allergen - two micrograms per gram, to be precise - can cause hypersensitivity in asthma sufferers, while 10 mcg/g can pose a serious health risk.
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And with almost half of pet owners letting their animals sleep in their bed, this is also very bad news for your mattress as their skin cells are added to the mix.
Along with over half a stone of dead skin cells, your mattress is also chockablock with bodily fluids, from sweat and saliva to anything else - depending on what you get up to in your bed.
Over the lifespan of your mattress, these bodily fluids could fill two full bathtubs. GRIM.
Founder of Hyde and Sleep Andrew Tyler said: "Few consumers recognise how beds deteriorate over time due to the gradual nature of the changes.
"However, one of the most recognisable changes, because they’re so visible and unpleasant, are the stains that appear on the outer cover of a mattress.
"Over time, a mixture of sweat, skin oils and bacteria seep through your sheets and are absorbed by your mattress, in some cases causing severe discolouration.
"An aged mattress is also more likely to fray around the edges, rip and even tear."
To keep your mattress fresh, Andrew recommends opening the windows in your room to keep it ventilated, washing pillow cases and sheets on a higher temperature to kill off germs and mites and using a mattress protector.
Hyde and Sleep are currently offering a 10 per cent discount to any visitors to their website using the code NOMORETHAN8.