DOES MESS 'REALLY' CAUSE STRESS?

Does mess ‘really’ cause stress?
This is a great topic of discussion when it comes to the spaces we inhabit and the impact our environment has on our health in

many ways. Whether it be physically, mentally, and / or emotionally.

If you’ve been here a while you’ll know that I'm a big believer of the impact mess can have in our lives and how it can contribute to levels of stress.

​However the question I'm exploring today is, is there a strong link between whether mess ‘really’ causes stress?

I love a clutter free space, and I also don’t mind a bit of mess, especially throughout the creative process, so let's explore the two and delve into the facts of mess and it’s correlation with stress.

So what exactly is mess?

Mess
Noun; 
A dirty or untidy state of things or of a place
A situation that is confused and full of problems
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Verb;
Make untidy or dirty
To have one’s meals with a particular person, i.e. a group of service people who eat together 

Just like stress, I think that there are certain levels of mess that can serve and support us in our lifestyle journey. Yet also aspects that may hinder our productivity, and have a negative impact on our overall health and wellbeing.

Having a space that’s cluttered, untidy or dirty can lead to all sorts of challenges!

Whether it be our health when it comes to unclean, contaminated surfaces causing the spread of harmful bacteria.
Not to mention trip hazards in the home, and wasting countless hours of your precious time trying to find things you need.

Knowing this, I think it’s a given that mess can lead to poor health, and impede our productivity.

But how much mess is too much mess?
​And when does it get to a point that it’s causing stress and impedes our ability to focus and function most optimally?

Mess itself can be a great part of our creative process, in fact I love nothing more than spreading papers out over the floor as I business plan or write a book, to a good declutter and organisation project.

I love how all of the moving parts that at times can be chaotic, finally start coming together as a project evolves and the pieces begin fit and take pride of place in ones home.

In fact, some people can function perfectly well with a level of chaos in a relatively messy space and know exactly where everything is at any given time, and it’s part of their personality.

And let’s be honest, life can be a MESSY!

After all, we are all perfectly imperfect beings, right?

All individual beings with individual sets of complexities because of our paradoxical nature!
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So when we explore mess, I think there are many moving parts to how this can both be and evolve in our everyday lives, to how people choose to be and live on a regular basis.

But for today let’s look at our physical environment and how mess can most commonly lead to stress in the way of Clutter!

Clutter ‘an untidy collection of things’ can bombard our minds with excessive stimuli. 

It can cause our senses to work overtime on stimuli that aren’t important or necessary, distracting us by drawing our attention away from what our focus should really be on.

Whether that be visually - how a room or space looks, olfactory - how a room or space smells, to how something in a room feels to touch in how it stimulates our senses.

For example, walking into a room that is full of stuff everywhere which can be a lot to visually process, to having to constantly move items in order to find that paper you need, to the scent of old rubbish in a room, and so on...

So the answer to the first question is ‘yes’ there is a strong link between whether mess ‘really’ does cause stress, and this is because of how we process information via our encoding process.

This is a process which is the input of information into our memory system.
​Here once sensory input is received our brains encode it, and organise the information, connecting new concepts to existing concepts.

When we are exposed to excessive stimuli aka ‘excessive clutter in a room’ this can make our encoding processes work overtime leading to stress and overwhelm.

Or if there is an underlying processing condition in the brain such as VPD - Visual Processing Disorder, APD - Auditory Processing Disorder, SPD - Sensory Processing Disorder and / or like conditions that effect this encoding process, then this too may effect ones ability to encode, store, and retrieve information properly.

So how much mess is too much mess?
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And when does it get to a point that it’s causing stress and impedes our ability to focus and function most optimally?

This is a question that after hours of research I have found to be a both a unique and individual matter!

There’s an aspect of commonality when it comes to clutter and physical items getting in the way of your day to day routines.

Then there’s also an aspect of lifestyle variances such as work environment, home environment, family / friendship and social environments, to your recreational and sport environments and more.

And when these environments have too much clutter i.e. you go from a disorganised chaotic work space, to a home with a sink full of dishes and no food in the pantry to cook for dinner because it hasn’t been organised...

These environments can pile up on your mess and stress levels!

Because no matter the ways, reasons and means by which the creep of stuff exceeds our ability to manage it - it amounts to stress in some way shape or form.
Leading to increased tension and anxiety, which too can lead to unhealthy habits and health effects.

So how much is too much?

According to an article written by Ferrari JR, Roster CA about examining the relationship between procrastination and clutter across generations.
We know that piles of clutter can cause stress and a perfect home is also something often unrealistic for some people.

But what it found is that the level of tolerable clutter may vary from person to person.
And stress is the first sign you may have too much clutter in your home / life. 

Do you feel agitated when getting ready in the morning?

Or frustrated because there’s piles of washing still sitting on the laundry floor for days on end?

Does the clutter / mess bother you?
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If so, then these could be signs that the clutter is causing you stress, and it could also be an indication of something deeper happening in your life that you might need consider further exploring.

Need a little help?
Then book a free discovery call with me here  the-organised-life.html to find out more.
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So there you have it, ‘Mess’ really does cause levels of ‘Stress’, so be sure to watch this space as I bring more on this hot topic in the near future.

Have a question?
Post below…
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Here’s to living a more organised life with less stress and more ease,
​Nicole x