Why Cleaning Your Room is Good for Your Mental Health

Just as a tidy space has many benefits, a messy one has many drawbacks. Not only does a cluttered bedroom make you start the day on the wrong foot, but it also gives you a hard time falling asleep at night. Studies have shown that people who sleep in cluttered spaces sleep worse than those whose bedrooms are clutter‐free.

Research from scientists and other experts have found numerous links between clean living space and a calm headspace.

From the moment you start tidying, you start to reset your life and your life will start to change.

A messy room can trigger anxiety and depression which interferes with good physical health in the long run. When we have a spring clean, we are also clearing our head and refreshing our overall well-being.

What is it about neatness and cleanliness that provokes a sense of peace of mind? Because we all have busy lives, we can overlook the fact that not keeping your living spaces clean and tidy is bad for our mental health.

It has been proven that people who have clean sheets and make their beds every morning were more likely to sleep better than those who do not. This significantly improves mental well-being.

When our living spaces are clean, our stress levels decrease. People who have a messy home or their home is needing work, begin their day stressed. This can result in a vicious cycle where people become so overwhelmed and begin to procrastinate, leading to more clutter and more stress. Depression and anxiety result in lethargy and fatigue which can then contribute to poor eating habits and weaker immune systems.

The stress triggered by mess and clutter has been show to trigger coping mechanisms like overeating unhealthy food. A study found that people who spent time in an unorganized room were 77 per cent more likely to binge eat and be overweight. In a cleaner room, the study found, people felt more relaxed and had more time to plan and prepare nutritious meals.

People don't eat well because their isn't functional and they don't sleep well because their beds are piled with STUFF.

A dirty room can exacerbrate asthma, pass around colds and spread dangerous bacteria. A clean, dust-free environment can help keep you and your loved ones healthier.

A clean room can also boost productivity. A messy space can make it more difficult to focus on specific tasks. When the brain's visual cortex is overwhelmed by irrelevant objects, it makes it harder to concentrate on what's immediately at hand.

Getting rid of mess helps us work and think more efficiently. As a result of a clean room, it frees up more time for us to do more and makes us more productive.

It's hard to believe that a disorganised room can slowly stack up to become a much larger issue, but the evidence is there. After all, it has been proven that the human body is built towards organisation: this is the reason why we have internal body clocks, and why our bodies are regulated the way they are. One misstep and everything goes out of place.

Hence, cleanliness is the result of our bodies' relationship with order. At the end of the day, a clean, tidy room is a natural mood booster.

The bedroom is your personal space. It's where you drift off, wake up and likely spend a lot of "me time." Unlike a cluttered space, an uncluttered room won't overstimulate your senses, distract you, make relaxation difficult or trigger guilt for letting things get out of control.