Our homes are our castles, our nests, our places of refuge from the outside world. They also reflect the people living in them, especially when it comes to cleanliness and health. Scientists have been investigating the relationship between people’s health and their homes for decades and have made some pretty incredible discoveries. Here are 6 benefits of a clean home and how they can affect your mental and physical health.
1. Better Attention Span
A cluttered home, it seems, can actually lead to a cluttered mind. A study at Princeton in 2011 concluded that “the visual cortex can be overwhelmed by task-irrelevant objects, making it harder to allocate attention and complete tasks efficiently.” In other words, having too much stuff can lead to shorter attention spans.
2. Better Health Overall
Over the course of a less recent study, researchers in Indiana discovered that people who keep their homes clean tend to be more active and enjoy better overall health. It turns out that house cleanliness is an even better predictor of someone’s health than the walkability of their neighborhood!
3. A Good Night’s Sleep
A survey performed by the National Sleep Institute in America recently discovered that people who make their bed every day may actually sleep better as well. Those surveyed were “19 percent more likely to report regularly getting a good night’s sleep” than those who didn’t make their bed. Clean sheets were also a factor. Most people surveyed said they slept better in beds with clean sheets because they felt more comfortable. Considering how important sleep is to our mental health, it is worth keeping a clean and tidy bed and bedroom.
4. Get Happy
A recent study investigated the link between a cluttered home and a person’s own perceptions of their mental state. By interviewing roughly 60 women, the study found that those who described their homes as “cluttered” were more likely to be depressed and tired than women who described their homes as “restful” and “restorative.” The study also found that women who said their homes were “cluttered” were also more likely to have elevated levels of the stress hormone cortisol in their systems. While the study was small and limited, it does suggest that a cluttered home can make us feel down, fatigued, and can increase our stress levels.
5. Improve Your Relationship
While money may be the number one worry between spouses, clutter doesn’t help relationships, either. According to some doctors, a messy home can increase tension in a relationship, which can lead to marital issues. Clean homes mean you can spend less time looking for things and tidying up, and more time enjoying each other’s company
6. Covid
Our new normal in covid times means that we have been spending more time at home than ever before! On a very practical level, this means we should really be cleaning our homes more, since we are spending more time in them; carpets are being more heavily trafficked than usual, as one example. Since we are also feeling more emotionally and mentally exhausted, a clean and clutter-free home can benefit us mentally too. As we saw in all the points listed above, a clean house is connected to positive mental health. How much more must this be true when we spend so much time in our houses these days!
Keeping a clean home is actually better for you than you may have thought. Besides the benefits of keeping your home more sanitary and free of allergens and bacteria, a clean home can actually lead to an improved mental and physical state. So the next time you are cleaning your house, whether you are steam-cleaning your carpets or organizing a linen closet, remember: it may be doing you more good than you ever imagined.
As mentioned above, Covid is part of our new reality, and AmSteam takes this very seriously. Please view our Covid protocols, which we put in place to provide you with a safe and comfortable carpet-cleaning experience.
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