When you’re anxious, stressed, or even depressed, the last thing you might think to do is grab the all-purpose cleaner or a broom and get to work. But you’d be surprised by how much the simple act of cleaning can help reduce your stress. Here’s how.
Mess creates stress
It’s really as simple as that. One oft-cited study found that women who described their homes as cluttered, demanding, or full of unfinished projects had higher levels of cortisol — and chronic stress — than women who described their homes as calm, clean, or restorative.
Cleaning is exercise
Especially for those of us who don’t always get in our 10,000 steps, cleaning house can be the aerobic activity our bodies — and our racing minds — really need. It just needs to be active cleaning — going up and down the stepladder, using big arm circles to clean the windows. General cleaning can burn 127 calories in about 30 minutes.
Cleaning encourages mindlessness
Repetitive tasks are stress relievers. “Repetitive behavior and rituals can be very effective in increasing focus and reducing stress,” Dr. Jill Owen, a psychologist in Surrey, England, told The Muse.
On the other hand, cleaning is an opportunity for mindfulness
One study found that being mindful while doing the dishes — paying attention to the temperature of the water or the scent of the dish soap — can do wonders for stress and anxiety. The results of simply paying attention and focusing? A 27% reduction in nervousness, for one.
Cleaning can increase focus
Clutter is a distraction. Which means cleaning helps rid your home of such distractions and helps you focus. Moreover, when doing specific tasks — cleaning a mirror, mopping a floor — the incessant internal chatter tends to quiet down, resulting in, you guessed it, more focus.
Cleaning can be a form of aromatherapy
Essential oils aren’t just an aspect of DIY green cleaning products, they are key to stress relief. Consider lavender or bergamot, both of which can reduce anxiety; chamomile or ylang-ylang, which induces calm; as well as jasmine, sweet marjoram, and valerian.
Cleaning gives you a sense of control
As Darby Saxbe, a professor of psychology at the University of Southern California, told Vice, cleaning “gives people a sense of mastery and control over their environment,” she says. “Life is full of uncertainty and many situations are out of our hands, but at least we can assert our will on our living space.”
Cleaning gives you a sense of accomplishment
Survey says … after tidying up the house, 70% of Americans feel a sense of accomplishment, 61% feel “de-stressed,” and 54% feel more relaxed. It’s hard to beat those kinds of numbers.
Cleaning reduces future stress
Cleaning is the gift that keeps on giving. Because we all know, it’s better to come home to a place that’s clean and organized, to a bed that is made, and to a kitchen sink that is not full of dirty dishes than it is to come home to a place full of to-do lists and I-didn’t-do-it lists.
