'We spend more than a third of our lives in bed — but that place can quickly blossom into a "botanical park" of bacteria and fungus', according to New York University microbiologist Philip Tierno.
纽约大学微生物学家菲利普·蒂尔诺日前表示，一生中，我们花费在床上的时间超过三分之一，但那里很快就可以发展成细菌和真菌的“植物园”。
If left for too long, the microscopic life within the wrinkles and folds of our bed sheets can even make us sick, Tierno told Business Insider.
蒂尔诺在接受《商业内幕》采访时表示，如果我们在床上停留太长时间，滋生在床单褶皱中的微生物甚至会使我们生病。
To stem the invisible tide, he said sheets should be washed once a week.
为了遏制这一看不到的趋势，他认为应该每周洗一次床单。
Humans naturally produce roughly 26 gallons of sweat in bed every year. When it's hot and humid outside, this moisture becomes what scientists call an "ideal fungal culture medium."
人类每年会在床上产生大约26加仑的汗液。如果外部环境湿热的话，那么潮湿的床单就会成为“理想的真菌培养基”。
In a recent study that assessed the level of fungal contamination in bedding, researchers found that feather and synthetic pillows between 1.5 and 20 years old can contain between four and 17 different species of fungus.
在最近一项评估床上真菌污染水平的研究中，研究人员发现，在已使用1.5至20年的羽绒和人工合成枕头中，竟然含有4至17种不同种类的真菌。

And it's not just your own microbial life you're sleeping with. In addition to the fungi and bacteria that come from your sweat, sputum, skin cells, and vaginal and anal excretions, you also share your bed with foreign microbes.
而这并不是与你一起入睡的微生物的全部。除了来自于汗液、唾液、皮肤细胞、阴道和肛门分泌物的细菌和真菌外，床上还有很多外来微生物。
These include animal dander, pollen, soil, lint, dust mite debris and feces, and finishing agents from whatever your sheets are made from, to name a few.
其中就包括动物皮屑、花粉、灰尘、棉绒、尘螨碎片和排泄物，以及制造床单所使用的涂饰剂，仅举几例。
Tierno says all that gunk becomes "significant" in as little as a week. And unclean bedding still exposes you to materials that can trigger the sniffing and sneezing, since the microbes are so close to your mouth and nose that you're almost forced to breathe them in.
蒂尔诺称，这些黏性混合物质在一个星期内就会变得无法忽视。而且不清洁的床单会使你接触到导致你咳嗽和打喷嚏的物质，因为微生物离你的口鼻非常近，导致你几乎是被迫吸入这些物质。
"Even if you don't have allergies per se, you can have an allergic response," Tierno said.
蒂尔诺说道：“即使你没有过敏症，也可能会出现过敏反应。”