Researchers have been delving into the secrets of the bedroom - well, some of those which can be published.

RESEARCHERS have been delving into the secrets of the bedroom – well, some of those which can be published.

There are some shock results of a survey on bedroom hygiene which polled 4,000 men and women.

By the time most people finally bundle their bed linen into the washing machine, it is infested with 10 million bed bugs and dead skin cells. There are also bits of toothpaste, crumbs, fake tan and other debris competing for space.

A smidge over a third of people polled for a beds company admitted changing their sheets just 12 times a year.

One in six admitted that the chore was done just six times a year – that’s two months without clean bedding.

It is reckoned by experts that we should change sheets every week.

Laziness is not restricted to having unclean beds. We are not too bothered about changing pyjamas either.

Even though we sweat more asleep than awake, most people it seems go a week without a clean pair of PJs. Getting on for eight out of 10 asked admitted that they wash pyjamas less frequently than ordinary clothes.

For those who wear them at all, we own, on average, four pairs of the sleepwear but 42 per cent admitted to having a favourite pair that they keep on wearing, even when dirty.

More than half of grown-ups would happily doze in ‘jamas with toothpaste stains, food or drink spills or make-up marks.

Reinforcing the need to buck up our bed habits, a sleep expert pointed out that beds are a breeding zone for bacteria and dust mites because of what comes off our bodies every night. It all adds up to our beds being a minefield for viruses.

So am I going to take the advice that I should be washing my bed linen every week, or every fortnight at least? Let me sleep on that one.

By the way, the place judged to be top of the top 10 dirtiest towns when it comes to bed linen is not too far away from us. It’s Cambridge.

Talking about secrets of the household, I was concerned to learn this week that millions of women are putting their macho men on secret diets.

They trick reluctant partners into losing weight, without them even realising. I take it all with a pinch of salt, but apparently these ladies are secretly trimming the fat off meat before cooking, buy leaner cuts, serve meals on slightly smaller plates (I think even men might notice that) and swap Diet Coke into non-diet bottles.

Just to put all this into context, researchers reckon that the proportion of scheming females who would put their overweight husbands or boyfriends on a diet without telling them is only 16 per cent while 31 per cent would openly insist on them making the effort to drop some pounds..

But one in 10 women said they would consider leaving their other half if they put on too much weight. Now there’s food for thought.