Nutrition Nugget: Clutter

Nutrition Nugget: Clutter Transcript

[00:00:26] I hear you. You're like, what does clutter have to do with my health other than maybe creating a tripping hazard? So first of all, you are spot on. A thousand percent clutter could absolutely impact our physical health if we trip over junk. Even very important junk if we trip over it. Right. Even things that are not junk.

[00:01:15] For some people, they may have a lot of tchotchkes in proper places, and to them that's not clutter. And to someone else, they would see all the toch keys on a shelf and go, oh, that would drive me nuts. Right. So as we go through the rest of this information, consider what qualifies to you as clutter. And it's possible that maybe you didn't even realize your home or your desk or your space, whatever it is.

[00:02:10] So I wanna start with the brain. Research shows that your physical environment shapes our cognition, our emotions, and our behavior. So a study from the Journal of Neuroscience showed disorganization can have a cumulative effect on the brain, and it seems to connect to the visual field the more that's there.

[00:02:59] There's also [00:03:00] impact on our working memory. So when there's more in our visual field, we're challenged, right? We have decreased working memory 'cause there's more in there for all my friends with A DHD, or if you feel like you have symptoms of A DHD clutter likely exacerbates your daily experiences. Now in 2011, FMRI, so functional MRI scans included among other measurement, showed that clearing clutter improved focus, ability to process information and increased productivity.

[00:03:58] So. [00:04:00] A study from 2013 showed those in a messy room were twice as likely to eat chocolate. I think it was a chocolate bar as opposed to an apple. Another study from 2016. The study was called Clutter, chaos, and Overconsumption, the role of mindset in stressful and chaotic food environments. And they concluded those in messy disorganized environments ate twice as many cookies compared to participants in an organized kitchen environment.

[00:04:48] Let's talk about sleep, because if you sleep in a cluttered room. Your eyes being closed doesn't seem to matter. So sleeping in a cluttered room may increase the likelihood of difficulty [00:05:00] sleeping, so difficulty falling asleep and or difficulty staying asleep. So apparently people who have a hoarding disorder, you know, a diagnosis also seem to be more likely to have insomnia.

[00:05:34] We know that stress impacts our physical and our mental health. Research shows cortisol levels are higher and those whose home environments are cluttered. Again, we know from our other episodes when cortisol is high, when we are in fight or flight, that can have a snowball effect on our physical health.

[00:06:17] And when we think about our mental health, we know, sure. Stress plays into things there too. Interesting. As if our usual stress isn't enough. Clutter can even impact our relationships. So there was a study from 2016. That said background clutter impacted the ability to read people's faces. So specifically in the study, they had people like clocking the emotional expressions on the faces of characters in a movie and in the cluttered environment that participants were less able to correctly interpret the emotional expressions.

[00:07:27] We are jeopardizing human connection and that again, is a crucial piece of quality of life and longevity. Now, of course. We're all about nuance here at Salad with a side of fries, and sure you'll find a study or two that connect messy workspaces to increased creativity, right? This, to me, is another know thyself situation, and I do believe that this doesn't mean that you have to now, Marie Kondo your entire life.

[00:08:18] This was episode 180 6 from February of 2023, and she offered us a whole host of ideas and action steps that we can take to start to declutter. I will say too, if clutter feels insurmountable. Reach out to the hoarders hotline. It's 1-800-HOARDERS 1 804 6 2 7 3 3 7. That's obviously in the US For all of our international listeners, Google, there are hotlines and resources available to you.

[00:09:21] So there you have it, friends, the scoop on clutter and your health. As always, everybody, I'm your host, gen Tpic. Connect with me on Instagram or all social media. I'm at Gen Tpic, J-E-N-N-T-R-E-P-E-C-K. Website is a salad with a side of fries.com. Pick your platform, send message. I truly love hearing from you.

[00:09:59] And friends, if [00:10:00] you are not already become a member of the Happy Healthy Hub, you'll go to a salad with a side of fries.com/membership. This shows your support for this podcast, this community, and most importantly, your health. You'll get this week's recipe for the no Cook Zucchini Noodles with pesto. Well friends, that's it for today's episode of Salad with a Side of Fries. Congratulations for making yourself and your health a priority. Thanks so much for joining us. Be sure to click subscribe or follow on your favorite podcast platform. Share us with a friend and we'll be back next week.