Bed-making is the act of arranging the

bedsheets A bed sheet is a rectangular piece of cloth used either singly or in a pair as bedding, which is larger in length and width than a mattress, and which is placed immediately above a mattress or bed, but below blankets and other bedding (such as ...

and other bedding on a bed, to prepare it for use. It is a household chore, but is also performed in establishments including hospitals, hotels, and military or educational residences. Bed-making is also a common childhood chore.

History

Beds must sometimes be made to exacting standards, demanded by nurses or military personnel. In a

hospital A hospital is a health care institution providing patient treatment with specialized health science and auxiliary healthcare staff and medical equipment. The best-known type of hospital is the general hospital, which typically has an emerge ...

or other health-care environment, beds must sometimes be made while occupied by a patient. Specialised techniques are taught to healthcare staff to enable beds to be made efficiently with due care for the patient. Moving the patient out of the bed before remaking it is the preferred option. There are different bed-making techniques, such as "hospital corners" and "mitred corners".

Military recruit Military recruitment refers to the activity of attracting people to, and selecting them for, military training and employment. Demographics Gender Across the world, a large majority of recruits to state armed forces and non-state armed gr ...

s are often taught how to make a neat and tidy bed with hospital corners. Military personnel are expected to fold the bed very tightly, in some cases so that a coin can bounce off it. Starting in 2012, many

self-making bed A self-making bed (also known as a smart bed) is designed to automatically rearrange the bedding on a bed and prepare itself for use. History In 2008, inventor Enrico Berruti featured his self-making bed, dubbed "Selfy", at The International Ex ...

s that automatically rearrange the bedding are in development and in use.

Record

Guinness World Records ''Guinness World Records'', known from its inception in 1955 until 1999 as ''The Guinness Book of Records'' and in previous United States editions as ''The Guinness Book of World Records'', is a reference book published annually, listing world ...

reports that the record time for two people to make a bed "with one blanket, two sheets, an undersheet, an uncased pillow, one pillowcase, one counterpane and hospital corners" is 14.0 seconds. This feat was achieved by two nurses from the

Royal Masonic Hospital The Royal Masonic Hospital was a hospital in the Ravenscourt Park area of Hammersmith, west London, built and opened in 1933. The Grade II* listed building became the Ravenscourt Park Hospital in 2002, but this closed in 2006. As of May 2015 th ...

in London in 1993.

References

{{Authority control Beds Domestic life Nursing Military life Hospitality management