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verywellmind.com
article
https://www.verywellmind.com/how-mental-health-and-cleaning-are-connected-509…
Research has found that cleaning can have a number of positive effects on your mental health. For instance, it helps you gain a sense of control over your environment and engage your mind in a repetitive activity that can have a calming effect. [...] 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."
Moreover, having clean sheets and making your bed may also help you get a better night's rest. When you get more rest, that provides a whole host of mental health benefits including an improved mood. [...] ### Key Takeaways
Maintaining a clean home positively impacts mental health by relieving stress, enhancing mood, and fostering a sense of control over your surroundings. By tackling small cleaning tasks daily, you can cultivate a more peaceful and organized environment.
## How Cleanliness and Mental Health are Connected
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news-medical.net
news
https://www.news-medical.net/health/Investigating-the-Link-between-Cleaning-a…
Cleaning is considered to be a form of stress relief, among other activities such as mindfulness and exercise practices. Research has demonstrated that cleaning can yield several positive effects on mental health. Among them, a sense of control and a calming effect caused by the engagement of cognitive capacity in a repetitive activity is the most notable.
## The Link Between Cleaning, Physical Health, and Mood [...] Bottom-up processes are the driver of top-down processes. When spaces are cleared the degree of bottom-up, stimulus-driven mechanisms are reduced, resulting in an increased ability to focus using top-down processes. Therefore, cleaning can indirectly affect mental health through a reduced pressure to multi-task. [...] 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
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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. [...] 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. [...] Your home reflects your mental state. When your space is cluttered, your mind feels the same way. Research shows that messy environments increase stress hormones, make it harder to focus, and contribute to anxiety and depression. But cleaning isn’t just about having a tidy house – it’s an act of self-care that directly impacts your emotional well-being. Understanding this connection can change how you think about household chores and give you a practical tool for managing your mental health.
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oxfordcbt.co.uk
article
https://www.oxfordcbt.co.uk/stress-management-cleaning
Whether you think of cleaning as a meditative task, or an energetic throw yourself into it task. Either way, any form of exercise releases endorphins. Endorphins send messages to your brain that changes your perception of pain and will trigger positive emotions in your body. Regular exercise has been proven to reduce stress and reduce anxiety, along with preventing depression. Cleaning will also have these effects on your body and mental health as long as these chores require some physical [...] yet to complete. Keeping clutter and mess at a minimum will have a positive effect on your focus, stress and mental health. [...] This one is particularly true if you share your living environment with other people. Whether you are sharing with a partner, friends, housemates, there is always a chance that you won’t all feel the same way about cleaning. Seeing someone’s dirty clothes around, unwashed plates or a messy bathroom can cause negative feelings of resentment towards the person responsible, and the negative feelings then in turn will have an impact on your mental health. You must discuss your shared responsibility
Y
youtube.com
video
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PVlbS04uQAc
yeah i definitely notice a difference just in my overall kind of like focus um and you know just like motivation if things around me are kind of like tidy and cleaned up a little bit you can definitely tell there's some sort of impact on your mental health absolutely yeah because otherwise you can be distracted like oh gosh i need to put those dishes away or i'm gonna have to do that later so if you start out with everything neat and tidy then you don't have those distractions and a lot of [...] Feeling anxious, stressed or unable to focus? Take a look around you. Clutter, mess or an untidy work area can make some people feel overwhelmed. In fact, research shows that cleaning (or a lack of cleaning) can have an impact on your mental health. Clinical psychologist, Dawn Potter, PsyD, discusses tips for decluttering, how mess can contribute to depression and tension and hoarding disorder.
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▶For more Health Essentials video podcasts: [...] as cluttered or complained about you know the unfinished projects that we all have uh these people were more likely to suffer from depression and fatigue while those who described their home as restful and restorative um were more likely just to be happier and have better mental health so there definitely seems to be some sort of connection um in most people between you know the being clean and organized and having better mental health and i know we've you know touched on it here and there but
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mhanational.org
article
https://mhanational.org/resources/creating-a-healthy-home-environment
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 [...] Plan for Mental Health Month Image
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# Creating a healthy home environment
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Optimizing your space to improve your mental health is something that anyone can benefit from. For those living with mental health conditions, it is one tool of many that can be used to improve and support your mental well-being.
## Practice tidiness [...] A big part of a mentally healthy living situation is feeling like your space gives you comfort, support, and calming energy. This could look like keeping comfort items around. Your favorite blanket, a meaningful gift, or a candle in your favorite scent can go a long way in helping you feel more at home. Your home can also impact your mental health based on colors, natural light, and set-up. Appropriate light, furnishing textures and patterns, and room organization can help reduce signs of
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psychologytoday.com
article
https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/the-truisms-wellness/201607/the-power…
The solution: Look at organization porn. Read an anti-clutter blog. Remember this article. People who keep their homes clean and organized are healthier, both physically and mentally. Spending the time and effort to keep your space clean is well worth it.
Why do we love organization? [...] A 2010 study published in the scientific journal Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin used linguistic analysis software to measure the way 60 individuals discussed their homes. Women who described their living spaces as “cluttered” or full of “unfinished projects” were more likely to be depressed and fatigued than women who described their homes as “restful” and “restorative.” The researchers also found that women with cluttered homes expressed higher levels of the stress hormone [...] Mental Health
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pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
official
https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC11925691
basic emotional dimensions, not on a verbal measure of tension in particular. It suggests that the psychological effect of cleaning may be more observable with indirect measures than direct ones, a theme we will see again in Experiment 2 (using physiological measures) and revisit in the Discussion section. [...] . Reidinger, Beauchamp, Barth (1982). Conditioned aversion to a taste perceived while grooming. _Physiology & Behavior_, 28(4), 715–723. doi: 10.1016/0031-9384(82)90057-9 [DOI90057-9)] [PubMed] [Google Scholar90057-9&)]
. Reuven, Liberman, Dar (2014). The effect of physical cleaning on threatened morality in individuals with obsessive-compulsive disorder. _Clinical Psychological Science_, 2(2), 224–229. doi: 10.1177/2167702613485565 [DOI] [Google Scholar] [...] ## . This cleaning effect is empirically distinguishable from the effect of touch (Experiment 1c). Actual cleaning behavior enhances adaptive cardiovascular reactivity to a highly stressful context of social performance and evaluation, especially for people who are motivationally engaged (Experiment 2). Altogether, both concrete visual simulation and actual experience of cleaning can attenuate effects of stressful events, be it physical or psychological in nature.