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realsimple.com
article
https://www.realsimple.com/clutter-mental-health-11884726
Another side effect of clutter? Stress and anxiety, says therapist Jillian Amodio. “As clutter increases, so do stress and anxiety,” she explains. This can lead to higher levels of cortisol (the stress hormone), along with feelings of overwhelm, which can potentially affect other areas of your life. “Increased levels of stress can lead to irritability, poor quality of sleep, strained or tense relationships, reduced ability to cope with demands of life, struggles with depression, and even [...] Clutter can boost cognitive load, or the amount of effort your brain needs to do tasks. More specifically, when you’re faced with clutter, your brain has to constantly process (and react) to every item in view, Steele-Wren says. This can lead to “an ongoing and unintentional strain that can hinder concentration and energy levels,” she explains. The overload can also show up as less satisfying work and relationships, and you might even find yourself getting annoyed more quickly. [...] ### It can harm your relationships.
As clutter shakes up your mood, it can also negatively affect your relationships. For example, you may feel embarrassed to have people over or guilty for going out when you could be cleaning, which can both lead to isolation, Amodio says. If you live with others, these emotions may be amplified, potentially straining relationships. And even if the clutter is not yours, it can lead to negative feelings like anger and resentment.
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calm.com
article
https://www.calm.com/blog/clutter-mental-health
Increased stress and anxiety: Studies have found that living in a cluttered space may raise stress levels, as it’s harder to unwind when surrounded by reminders of things left undone.
Reduced focus and productivity: Clutter makes it challenging to focus on specific tasks, as our brains get distracted by the visual noise around us. [...] When a space is cluttered, it can create feelings of overwhelm, stress, and even shame. The constant reminder of unfinished tasks and decisions that need to be made can make it hard to relax or focus. It can also impact self-esteem, making us feel embarrassed or stuck, especially when clutter starts to interfere with our social lives. So, clutter isn’t just an inconvenience. For many of us, it’s also a mental health issue. [...] Impact on self-esteem and mood: A cluttered space can lead to feelings of guilt or shame, especially when the mess feels out of control. People often feel embarrassed to invite others into a messy home, which can lead to social isolation.
Possible ties to depression: Studies suggest that excessive clutter may contribute to, or worsen, symptoms of depression. Cluttered environments can reinforce negative feelings and contribute to a sense of being stuck or unable to move forward.
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nuvancehealth.org
news
https://www.nuvancehealth.org/health-tips-and-news/how-clutter-affects-your-b…
Research has shown cluttered homes can chip away at your mood and self-esteem, contributing to feelings of shame or inadequacy about not being “on top of things.” You might wonder if something is wrong with you because you can’t seem to get organized, which can hurt your confidence and create a negative self-image. This emotional exhaustion can further decrease your motivation to tidy up, reinforcing the clutter/stress cycle we discussed earlier. [...] If a messy room has ever made you feel anxious or stressed out, you’re not alone — and there’s a biological reason for it. Clutter can trigger a stress response in the body. For example, a study found women who described their homes as “cluttered” had significantly higher levels of the stress hormone cortisol throughout the day. Your brain releases cortisol when you’re under pressure; consistently elevated levels suggest the untidy environment genuinely taxed these women’s brains and bodies. [...] A disorganized environment and a cluttered mind can overwhelm your brain, impair your focus, increase anxiety and stress, disturb your sleep and even dampen your mood and memory. The good news is, there are ways to manage your environment and thoughts to help reverse these effects.
Related content: Stressed out? Discover the effect of stress on the brain and ways to manage it.
## The neuroscience of clutter: why mess affects the brain
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verywellmind.com
article
https://www.verywellmind.com/decluttering-our-house-to-cleanse-our-minds-5101511
You might tell yourself, I'll declutter eventually. But time keeps passing, and your home, office, or car is still filled to the brim with stuff. If any of this resonates with you, you're not alone. But many people don't realize the connection between clutter and mental health.
Accumulating a few extra possessions may not seem like a big deal, but clutter can negatively impact your mental health. It can increase stress levels, make it hard to focus, strain relationships, and more. [...] Ideally, home is a place where we can rest and relax. However, clutter can make it hard to do that. One study found that women who reported more clutter in their homes had higher levels of the stress hormone cortisol throughout the day compared to women who had less clutter.
Clutter can also contribute to household chaos, which is associated with worse parenting practices, negative emotions, and stress.
### Difficulty Focusing [...] Of course, not everyone is affected by clutter in the same way. For instance, someone with perfectionist tendencies is likely to be more stressed out by clutter.
By becoming aware of how much clutter you have and whether you experience any stress as a result, you'll be better able to discern if there's an opportunity for you to modify your physical space and improve your mental health.
### Increased Stress Levels
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www1.racgp.org.au
news
https://www1.racgp.org.au/newsgp/clinical/what-does-clutter-do-to-your-brain-…
Clutter can make us feel stressed, anxious and depressed. Research from the United States in 2009, for instance, found the levels of the stress hormone cortisol were higher in mothers whose home environment was cluttered.
A chronically cluttered home environment can lead to a constant low-grade fight or flight response, taxing our resources designed for survival. [...] Charity groups such as St Vincent de Paul are reporting a 38% increase in donations, year on year, as we get rid of the clothes, books and household items that don’t ‘spark joy’ or have a place in our future.
And there is good reason to get on board, whether it’s via the KonMari method, or just having a good clear-out. Clutter can affect our anxiety levels, sleep, and ability to focus. [...] And surprisingly, it doesn’t go away when we finally get to bed. People who sleep in cluttered rooms are more likely to have sleep problems, including difficulty falling asleep and being disturbed during the night.
Clutter-hero.jpg
People have been found to produce more stress hormones when they are surrounded by clutter.
Could clutter really make us overweight?
Multiple studies have found a link between clutter and poor eating choices.
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apa.org
news
https://www.apa.org/news/podcasts/speaking-of-psychology/clutter
It’s tiring. It’s exhausting. As we said, it could be an emotional trigger, but we know that the more clutter leads to more depression, more mood disorders. As I said earlier, lower psychological wellbeing, life satisfaction, negative emotions about the self. People with lots of clutter do lots of self devaluing the data shows. We didn’t do this study, but a study had been done that found it’s related to over consumption of unhealthy foods. So people with lots of clutter tend to eat a lot maybe [...] years, psychologist research has begun to find that living and working in cluttered spaces causes stress and anxiety and can harm both our mental health and our productivity. [...] and clutter. So the more clutter you have, the lower people report life satisfaction. Greater the stress. So here we are living in this consumer culture, but more and more, more. Buy, buy, buy. Well, you’re actually not living a good complete life because you’ll be less satisfied.
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webmd.com
article
https://www.webmd.com/balance/ss/slideshow-clutter-affects-health
When everything is in order, you know exactly where you put your glasses and keys so you can grab them and go on with your day. That saves time and a whole lot of hassle. In one study, women who saw their homes as cluttered had high levels of the stress hormone cortisol throughout the day, while those who described their abode as a well-organized, restful space had lower levels.
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## It Doesn’t Get Easier [...] A neat, tidy house feels inviting, both for the people who live there as well as guests. A cluttered home may feel the opposite. But shutting people out can take a toll on relationships and make you feel sad and lonely. That could be one reason a hoarding disorder tends to overlap with depression and anxiety disorders.
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## Slips and Falls [...] ## Too Much Stuff
If your closets are bursting or your desk is topped with piles of disorganized papers, you may want to take some steps toward a neater home or workspace. While a bit of chaos might have some upsides -- at least one study suggests that a messy room spurs creativity -- it has many more downsides. It can even be damaging for your physical and mental health.
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## Mess Equals Stress
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pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
official
https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC9216699
## , including negative emotional state, i.e., experiencing feelings of anxiety, fear or anger. Since parents may perceive chaotic home environments as uncertain and disorganized, due to an excess of interminable stimuli such as noise and clutter, household chaos might cause negative emotions in parents, which, in turn, could affect parenting. Indeed, household chaos has been related to negative emotions and conflicts . Moreover, higher levels of parental negative emotions are associated with a [...] significant effect between baseline and phase 1 (_b_=0.08, 95% CI=0.06–0.09) indicated that negative emotional state levels increased from baseline to phase 1. For sAA, Model 4 was accepted as the final model, and included a random intercept, random slopes, covariates, correlations between effects, and the main effect of time as a factor. Again, the change between baseline and phase 1 was significant (_b_=0.11, 95% CI=0.08–0.15), indicating that sAA levels increased from baseline to phase 1. [...] In addition to affecting subjective emotional distress in adults reflected by their emotional state, household chaos might also influence more objectively assessed physiological stress. Physiological biomarkers such as salivary alpha-amylase (sAA) serve as a quick and noninvasive indicator of physical stress levels. Increased sAA corresponds with autonomous nervous system (ANS) activity, as the sympathetic and parasympathetic components of the ANS play a role in the physiological response to