Being a hygiene freak has its perks. Even if you are not, cleaning will help you feel better and refreshed.
Now the question may arise, why is cleaning good for mental health?
Well, cleaning makes you feel good; it gives you the feeling that you have achieved something. Cleaning also helps calm a person’s mind, if not even lessen anxiety. Many people use cleaning to declutter their minds and ease tension.
All these are pros of cleaning. If you need clarification about how a simple task such as cleaning does so much for our mental health, stick around.
How Cleaning And Mental Health Are Linked With Each Other
A study by Psychology Today shows how cleaning can drastically improve your mental health. A mess can lead to foul moods, increased anxiety, and depression.
Another study shows that women with an uncluttered atmosphere are less likely to have bad mental health, and women with messy houses are the opposite. This is applied to everyone. Not cleaning can make you lose focus and boost your blood pressure. We all know high blood pressure isn’t good for our health.
Further, a research from Princeton University revealed that our brains tend to work less efficiently under multiple stimuli. In easy words, having a messy atmosphere makes it harder for our brains to work (unorganized room, clothes lying on the floor, shabby table, etc. ). This leads to sensory overload.
How Cleaning Impacts The Mental Health Positively
Cleaning can instantly change better a person’s mood. As we said earlier, it can give someone a sense of achievement. Here are some other ways cleaning can benefit you:
- Maintaining stress and anxiety
- Have more time
- Save time by not looking for things
- Improve mood
- Managing stress
- Take your mind off of things
Research by Stanford shows that two parties were tested in the experiment where one’s space was clean and the opposite party’s messy. They were later asked to give to charity, and the people with neat areas were more giving than the people with cluttered space’s people.
Besides the obvious reasons, here are some other reasons why cleaning can help drastically.
1. More Control Of Your Space
This proves that a clean space benefits the person and affects their thinking. If you have a messy room and are trying to change it, working towards cleaning the area will allow you more control over the space.
2. Decrease In Stress And Anxiety
People with anxiety have used cleaning as a coping mechanism, which has been proved by many studies. People who have consumed their minds with the task they are doing while cleaning has seen a significant decrease in stress and anxiety.
3. Saving Time And Money
Sometimes we buy things we already have just because we can’t find where the item is. Having an unorganized space is one of the primary reasons for that. If you clean the area regularly, you will save time by not looking for it and money by not repurchasing something you own.
If you’re from Toronto and don’t have the time to give your house a makeover, check out Deep Clean Services Toronto. Their services are affordable and will give your house a deep clean quickly, so your home always gives a healthy, neat, and tidy vibe.
Besides these apparent changes, cleaning is like a workout itself. “I think that the act of cleaning itself, of course, is a physical activity, and so if depending on how much cleaning we’re doing, how vigorous we’re getting, we may be getting a bit of a workout. And even if not, it’s just something that gets us up and moving and being in control of our environment,” said Dr. Dawn Potter in a podcast with Cassandra Holloway.
We agree with Dr. Potter’s statement. Cleaning can give you Endorphins as you get on with the process.
How Can You Get Into The Habit Of Cleaning?
While we are no pros when it comes to cleaning, a few tips and tricks won’t hurt. Check out some ways you can stay organized and understand why cleaning is good for mental health:
1. Take One day At A time
Baby steps are the best way to describe it. Start by organizing or cleaning the most minor things. Things that are small as cleaning your mirror because if you start something big, like cleaning your closet, you might lose motivation halfway and stop. So it’s best to pick something less time-consuming that will take little effort.
2. Make It easy For You
Let’s say you always forget where you keep your car keys; now acknowledge the problem and take action. Understand why you forgot the key placement; perhaps you need a specified space for it? Get a key hanger, keep it in a drawer, and always place your car’s keys there.
Like this, make notes of the things you lose or often misplace and make a simple system.
3. Get A Cleaning Buddy
If cleaning seems boring, you can bring a friend to help you with the process. This way, you will have fun and get things done without much. Make sure to ask for help when you need it.
4. Time Management
If nothing works, set a timer, and you will clean for 1 hour daily. You can even have a day dedicated to cleaning. We like to do it on Sundays, but you can choose your own.
Feel free to ask for help from others while cleaning. You should get folders or specified drawers to keep things so that you won’t lose stuff. Pat yourself on the back after each cleaning session.
Final Words
Cleaning and mental health are like yin and yang; if you know what you’re doing. Cleaning doesn’t have to be stressful. In fact, it does quite the opposite.
If you are still wondering why cleaning is good for mental health? It improves your focus, gives you a longer attention span, and gets your mind off things for a while. Cleaning will provide you with a piece of calm, and you’ll never have to worry about losing things again.
If you want to practice cleaning and see how it affects your mental health positively, we hope the steps mentioned will help you.
