4 Surprising Benefits of Cleaning
Cleaning your home or office has many health benefits both physical and mental. But a clean space can yield other benefits as well besides the obvious ones. Read on to find out about other benefits and issues you can solve by cleaning.
1. A Clean Bedroom Will Help You Get a Better Night’s Sleep
We all know that maintaining a clean bedroom is important for our physical health for sanitary reasons and that a clean room can help improve your mental health and state of mind, but a clean bedroom can also help improve the quality of your sleep overall. For example, it sounds like a small thing, but people who make their beds regularly are 19% more likely to sleep well on a regular basis. A poll conducted by The National Sleep Foundation also found that 75% of those polled slept better on clean sheets with a fresh scent. Having a morning and a nighttime routine that includes making your bed, turning down the covers, and washing your sheets regularly can all help improve the quality of your sleep. If you’re having trouble sleeping at night try clearing the clutter from your room, changing your sheets, or try a natural room spray.
2. Regular Cleaning Helps Keep Your Immune System Strong
If you or someone in your family or office suffers from seasonal allergies it may not just be the pollen causing the problem. Dust, mildew, mold, pet dander, and even bugs can be big immune system triggers for people who are prone to allergies. A cluttered home or workspace tends to gather a lot of those pollutants during the winter months. A 2014 study by the American College of Allergy, Asthma, and Immunity found that cleaning your home and decluttering your space can help you avoid allergy symptoms and make you feel healthier. In fact, many scientists and environmental experts report that the pollution inside your home or office can often be worse than outdoor air pollution. The best way to reduce the build-up of these immune system disruptors in your home or workplace is to regularly vacuum your carpets, furniture, and upholstery and clean out potentially damp areas such as bathrooms, basements, and garages regularly.
3. Cleaning Can Help Improve Your Heart Health
It’s no secret that regular exercise can lower your risk of developing many chronic or debilitating illnesses and while you may not think of cleaning as exercise if done correctly you can actually burn calories while cleaning! It turns out that even low-intensity physical activity like cleaning and doing household chores come with heart-healthy benefits. Studies have found that on average 30 minutes of vacuuming can burn between 94 to 111 calories per person. This increases your heart rate in a healthy way that supports good heart health. If you’re looking for an easy way to improve or maintain your heart health, just 30 minutes per day of cleaning such as vacuuming, mopping, or scrubbing floors can decrease your risk of heart disease by 24%. People who keep their homes clean also tend to be more driven to invest in their overall physical fitness which is an important aspect of heart health in general.
4. Cleaning Can Help Reduce Stress
This one sounds counter intuitive but it’s true! It depends on the person, but for many people the physical act of cleaning may allow you to turn your brain off so to speak for a bit and allow your mind to relax. Many people enter into a meditative or Zen like state when they clean which gives us a chance to recharge. If you don’t find this to be true for you, you can try listening to music when you clean or a podcast or calling a family member or friend on the phone. Often, when we engage our mind in listening to something while performing a monotonous task we can enter into a meditative or trance like state which gives our brains a chance to de-stress and turn off for a while. Eliminating external clutter may also help you free yourself from internal mental clutter. Studies have also shown that doing housework for as little as 20 minutes can reduce your stress and anxiety by up to 20%. To further your relaxation process, you can try using cleaning products with calming scents like lavender or eucalyptus.
