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prowellness.childrens.pennstatehealth.org
article
https://prowellness.childrens.pennstatehealth.org/the-connection-between-clea…
Additionally, the Anxiety and Depression Association of America indicates that the physical activity of cleaning coupled with the end result of a cleaner home helps reduce stress, feelings of anxiety, and depressive symptoms.10 Cleaning can also reduce fatigue and improve concentration.
### Cleanliness and Focus [...] Clutter and mess can create more stress and anxiety, but by cleaning, organizing, and reducing the clutter, people are able to take control of their environment and create a more relaxing environment that helps them focus better on the more pressing issues in their lives.
The Connection Between Cleanliness and Mental Health
## Benefits of Cleanliness and Decluttering [...] For instance, a study published in the journal, Mindfulness, found that people who were mindful when washing dishes—in other words they took the time to smell the soap and to take in the experience—reported a 27% reduction in nervousness, along with a 25% improvement in “mental inspiration.”8
Moreover, having clean sheets and making your bed may also help you get a better night’s rest.9 When you get more rest, that provides a whole host of mental health benefits including an improved mood.
M
med.stanford.edu
research
https://med.stanford.edu/news/insights/2022/05/mental-health-hygiene-can-impr…
"Mindfully brushing the teeth is actually part of the home practice assignments for the Mindfulness-based Stress Reduction program," Tong said. "In the program, group members are asked to carry out these seemingly trivial, often overlooked routines intentionally, rather than on auto-pilot as we usually do."
#### A focused mind is a happy mind [...] Thankfully, Tong said, research also suggests that the brain is incredibly adaptable. "Neuroplasticity means that our nervous system has flexibility and can change how it functions and even how it's structured."
For example, after eight weeks of a mindfulness-based stress reduction program, researchers at Harvard found decreased activity in and thinning of the amygdala — the brain structure that is responsible for fear and stress responses. [...] Studies have shown that American adults spend nearly half their waking hours in a state of mind-wandering, with their attention focused on something other than the task directly in front of them. "So often we are absent-minded," Tong said, "and not really mentally there with the things we are doing."
In addition, research.pdf) also shows that when participants reported paying attention to a task at hand — even a simple, repetitive task — they report high levels of happiness.
E
elevaterecoveryhomes.com
article
https://elevaterecoveryhomes.com/cleaning-as-self-care
## The Science Behind Clean Spaces and Mental Health
Numerous studies have demonstrated the connection between a clean environment and improved mental health – one study found that individuals who described their homes as cluttered experienced higher levels of cortisol, a stress hormone, throughout the day.
Your brain responds to your environment. When you’re surrounded by mess, your mind struggles to process information and make decisions. [...] Your home is unsafe or unsanitary
Clutter prevents you from using rooms
You feel paralyzed by the task
Cleaning causes severe distress
You can’t maintain basic cleanliness
Your ability to complete tasks can be affected by a multitude of different factors and conditions including OCD, anxiety, depression, ADHD, and more.
Getting help isn’t failure. It’s self-care.
Options include: [...] When life feels uncertain, cleaning is a tangible action you can manage – it can restore a sense of agency when everything else feels chaotic.
## The Mental Health Benefits of Cleaning
### Reduces Stress and Anxiety
Cluttered spaces can contribute to feelings of overwhelm and anxiety—when your environment is disorganized, your mind tends to feel the same way, and by systematically cleaning and organizing, you can create a sense of order and control, reducing stress levels.
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news-medical.net
news
https://www.news-medical.net/health/Investigating-the-Link-between-Cleaning-a…
In an examination of ritualized behavior in anxiogenic situations (that causing anxiety), researchers studied 62 undergraduate students cleaning behaviors assigned to either a high-anxiety or low-anxiety group. The researchers found that induced anxiety increased the likelihood of repetitive and rigid activities. Notably, however, these activities were not redundant. This study emphasized a novel link between anxiety and ritualized behavior, such as cleaning. [...] The study used self-assessment and objective assessments to gauge the participants' perception of their neighborhoods and residences. Participants were asked to rate the interior and exterior aspects of the home including cleanliness, among other factors including noise, air quality, furnishings, and conditions of these interior and exterior aspects. [...] Cleaning results in good mental health through several mechanisms. The absence of clutter can reduce the overstimulation produced by too many visual stimuli, enabling increased focus and the ability to concentrate. In addition, cleaning can enhance mood, particularly when engaged in mindful activity whilst doing the cleaning activity – moreover, the active cleaning itself can result in environmental certainty and controllability, thereby reducing anxiety.
## References:
## Further Reading
P
pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
official
https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC11925691
from analysis, rendering a final _N_ of 74, slightly larger than our preregistered target of 64 and comparable with typical sample sizes in prior studies (Hoyt & Blascovich, 2010; Jamieson et al., 2012). For transparency, we conducted a sensitivity analysis by loosening the inclusion criterion of duration between TSST1 and B2 in 1-min increments, starting with the minimum above the preregistered target sample size of 64, to examine its impact on the effects of interest. Indeed, as we included [...] are activated or when an activated behavioral routine is blocked in an animal (e.g., honeybee, pigeon, rhesus monkey; Delius et al., 2010; Diezinger & Anderson, 1986; Pflumm, 1985), with the potential function of stress reduction. Indeed, autogrooming can be elicited by stressors such as novelty, footshock, agonistic conflict, and intense light and noise (Spruijt et al., 1992). When rats were exposed to recorded rat screams, they showed significant increases in “total grooming time, number of [...] Visually simulated experience of cleaning behavior reduced residual anxiety from a stress-inducing physical scene. The manipulation involved mere visual simulation, with effect sizes (_d_ s = 0.205 and 0.141) in the expected small range by traditional standards (J. Cohen, 1988) and comparable with those in contemporary preregistered between-subjects research (Schäfer & Schwarz, 2019). The effect was observed and replicated on a pictorial measure of anxiety derived from basic emotional
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mhanational.org
article
https://mhanational.org/resources/creating-a-healthy-home-environment
reduce signs of anxiety and depression. [...] anxiety. Less time looking for lost items or getting distracted is always a good thing. [...] Keeping your living space clean is shown to promote calmness and a sense of control over your day-to-day life. Your home environment doesn’t need to be spotless, but clutter can be harmful to your mental state – contributing to depression, trouble focusing, confusion, and stress. Not only can clutter be distracting, but it has been shown to actually make it harder for your brain to think clearly. Neatness also provides predictability, which can cut down on brain fatigue and anxiety. Less time
E
extension.usu.edu
research
https://extension.usu.edu/mentalhealth/articles/the-mental-benefits-of-declut…
Relieve anxiety. When things are not organized or clean, it can often bring vast amounts of anxiety. You may feel constantly stressed, worried, or afraid of more clutter accumulating. To allow our minds to find some peace, decluttering can lift that weight and help us to think clearer and feel calmer. [...] Lang, M., Krátký, J., Shaver, J.H., Jerotijević, D., & Xygalatas, D. (2015). Effects of anxiety on spontaneous ritualized behavior. Current Biology, 25(14), 1892-1897.
McMains, S., & Kastner, S. (2011). Interactions of top-down and bottom-up mechanisms in human visual cortex. Journal of Neuroscience, 31(2):587-97. [...] Clutter can be overwhelming, but it can be removed or organized. One of my favorite strategies to control the clutter in my home is to incorporate decluttering into my every day or weekly routine. We implement a “ten-second tidy” each day to keep our everyday mess manageable and prevent clutter-induced overwhelm or anxiety. Here are some other tips to try:
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stress.org
research
https://www.stress.org/news/new-psychology-research-indicates-that-cleaning-o…
The new findings provide some of the first scientific evidence that cleaning oneself is related to reductions in anxiety. But why were scientists interested in