Mental Health Benefits Of Keeping Your Living Space Clean

From a young age, we were all taught to keep our rooms clean and tidy. You may remember your parents telling you that “keeping your room clean is good for your mental health.” That was just so you would pick up your toys and put them in their place, but, as it turns out, there’s more truth in those words than we would like to admit.

The environment is a significant factor when it comes to our mental well-being, and taking care of your living space’s cleanliness , whether that’s your apartment, house, or just a bedroom, can give you a noticeable benefits that you would not want to ignore.

Here are the mental health benefits of a clean living space: 

1. Improved Focus

A study that took place in 2011 by the Princeton Neuroscience Institute proves that the processing capacity of a person’s brain can be distracted if there are too many objects within their field of vision. This is why clearing your living space of all the unnecessary clutter is important so that your brain can focus on the items and take one task at a time. 

2. Consistency And Familiarity

In order to achieve stability in everyday circumstances, whether good or bad, we humans prefer routines that are similar. Keeping all your items in order and in a designated space can provide that sense of familiarity. And by order, it is not meant for you to color coordinate every item and place them in a singular line. Nothing needs to be perfect, just needs to be tidy. Your sense of order can most certainly differ from another person’s sense of order, and that is okay!

3. Sense Of Control

A study that was conducted back in 2017 revealed that procrastination, low quality of life, and feeling inundated are highly associated with clutter. When we keep our outer environment in order and neatly structured, it gives us a sense of belief that we can manage our internal feelings as well. Our outer environment can play the role of a container for our psychic and emotional feelings. 

4. Releases Endorphins

The act of cleaning and physical movement has the ability to release endorphins. Doctors say that this act can be a huge stress and pain reliever and be beneficial for our well-being overall. 

5. Regulates Emotions

The physical act of clearing clutter also requires us to take a break and slow down. This can act as a calming effect while one is in the midst of an overwhelming and stressful situation. All of this can majorly help in exploring as well as managing our emotions.