Whether you suffer primarily from seasonal outdoor allergies to pollen and molds or mainly what’s considered “indoor” allergies like dust, dust mites, pet dander, and hair, keeping a clean home can greatly reduce your symptoms.
Health Benefit #4: A Clean Home Can Ease Seasonal Allergy Symptoms The average fast-food meal weighs in at about 1,800 calories, whereas a home-cooked dinner comes in at about 550. This may not seem like a big deal, but it does add up quickly. A 2010 study published in the journal Psychological Science showed that people in a more orderly, clean environment made smarter, healthier snacking choices than those attempting to work in more cluttered, messy spaces.Ī messy, grungy kitchen is no fun to cook or eat in, either, so those who have cleaner, neater kitchens may be more likely to make healthier food at home, rather than avoid their kitchens altogether and go out to eat. When you look at it that way, it’s easy to see the reverse, that a clean and tidy home may lead you to better eating habits and a generally healthier lifestyle. And it’s no secret that many of us tend to make poor food choices when we are stressed. Why is cleaning important? Here’s another reason: It’s been well established that cluttered, dirty and even off-smelling spaces make us feel anxious and stressed. Health Benefit #3: A Clean Home Can Lead to Healthier Food Choices Many psychology studies have been performed that show an uncluttered, clean space can help us focus better and feel calmer, less depressed and less anxious in general. That wasn’t the only study showing the effects of clutter on mental health. A Princeton University study concluded that clutter can actually overwhelm the visual cortex, making it more difficult to process the task at hand. A ll it sees is the untidy mess, the unfinished piles, leaving a part of your brain ticking away as it thinks about that unfinished business. While over time, parts of our brain shut off the mess and we become “clutter blind,” other parts of our brain become overwhelmed.
It’s overwhelming and can actually contribute to stress, anxiety, and depression. When every surface is covered in clutter, laundry is in an unknown state-clean? dirty?-kids’ school papers, dirty cups and who even knows what lies beneath it all along with dust, crusted spills, pet hair… Clean house, clean mind! Health Benefit #2: A Clean, Clutter-free Space Can Improve Your Mental Health The National Sleep Foundation also ran a survey that clearly showed those with clean sheets and clean rooms had an easier time sleeping. The truth is, our minds are full, and of course we think of all the things left undone as we try to fall asleep, including all of the mess around us in our bedrooms. It’s a wonder, with our constant on-the-go lifestyles, that we all don’t fall into bed and conk out until morning-but that isn’t the case. Have a hard time catching those beloved zzz’s? You aren’t alone.Ī recent study by the National Sleep Foundation showed that 45 percent of Americans experience poor sleep.
Health Benefit #1: Keeping Your Bedroom Clean May Lead to Better Sleep How important is a clean house? To answer that, today we will share just a few of the many ways that keeping your home clean can actually benefit your health and the health of the ones you love-ways that may surprise you. Today, you try to keep your home clean, but some days you wonder: How bad would it be if you pushed aside that cleaning planner you downloaded off Pinterest and just took a break from cleaning for a bit? Your mom probably made you clean your room (and the bathroom, and maybe even the cat litter box) growing up, as her mom probably did before her. Would it surprise you to learn the health benefits of a clean home? Everyone knows that you should keep your Bothell-area home clean.