The mental health benefits of keeping a clean home
It can often be difficult to maintain a clean home around a busy schedule. And, as many families may not have the budget for contract cleaners, cleaning can quickly get on top of a busy family home.
A study on mood patterns found that women who identified as having a higher level of stress stated that their homes were untidy, compared to women who maintained a clean home with a strict cleaning schedule who were found to be much less stressed with lower levels of cortisol.
Finding the time to clean your home, office or workspace has benefits which exceed just having a clean space to live or work in. It’s no coincidence that home cleaning simply makes you feel good when it’s done, with numerous studies outlining the very real benefits of sticking to a cleaning schedule and maintaining a tidy home.
We’ve listed three of the key benefits which occur when a deep clean happens and the clutter is removed from your home:
An increased sense of productivity
The removal of clutter is also the removal of distractions. Whether around the home or in the workplace, it’s incredibly easy to become distracted (and continue to do so if the cause of the distraction is not addressed).
A deep-clean removes any clutter and causes less distractions, resulting in a productive environment that can be worked or lived in happily.
A significant confidence boost
Picture the scene: Your friends are coming over or the family have invited neighbours round for dinner, and your house is a mess. For most readers, just thinking of this scenario alone is enough to get worked up into a panic!
Maintaining a clean home alleviates any stress related to the perception of your home, and ultimately how visitors may perceive you in relation to how clean or tidy your home may be.
This can be a huge confidence boost when entertaining guests, as immediately the host does not have to worry about an untidy room when giving a tour of the home!
A natural stress reduction
Studies such as this one found that 60% of people surveyed agreed that cleaning their home was the best way to de-stress. The act of a vigorous home clean has multiple benefits, most notably the physical process itself which mirrors a workout, and can elevate the ‘happy’ hormone which is produced when exercising.
Naturally, stress is reduced as the home becomes cleaner, the clutter starts to vanish, and the sense of accomplishment starts to set in when looking at the result of a hard, deep home clean!
Our final tip is to consider writing up a cleaning chart which, much like a workout programme, should be followed rigorously. The mental and physical health benefits are clear… Who needs a gym when cleaning is the new stress buster!
