Mental health isn’t simply about what’s going oninsideyour head. What’s happeningoutsideyour head is important, too — from a cluttered bedroom to a poorly-lit office to the view from a window — it can all impact your well-being.
Physical environments directly impact our psychological health. It’s easy to see why: we spend alotof time thinking about what’s around us. And all that external stimuli has an effect! Maybe the laundry hasn’t been folded in three days, and it bugs you every time you go to bed. Or your kitchen is dark and gloomy, and so cooking dinner makes you sad.
Adjusting your surroundings can dramatically improve your mental health. Just remember: everyone is different! If you’re one of those rare birds that thrives in clutter, tidying up might not help.
Solutions to Improve Your Surroundings
Here are some environments that might get you down in the dumps and some solutions to help youimprove your surroundings — and your mental health.
Clutter
Spring cleaning isn’t simply good for your home’s health — it’s good for your mental health, too.Don’t just declutter because Marie Kondo told you to: do it for the psychological benefits.
Researchersstudying clutter have found that messy homes lead to decreased mental well-being. Amongolder adults, messy homes led to asignificantdecrease in life satisfaction. Essentially, the study found that clutter starts off as a symptom of procrastination tendencies — but soon the mess becomes a stress factor in itself.
The effect of clutter on mental health may be worse for women. A2010 studyfound that wives who consider their home cluttered had higher cortisol levels during the daytime. Women whodidn’tthink their homes were cluttered had decreasing cortisol levels, just like most men.
Crowds and loud noises
Do airports and concerts make you inherently uncomfortable? You’re not alone:studies have shownthat crowded rooms and loud exterior noises elevate psychological distress.
But it’s not just tightly-packed events that affect your mental health. Crowded cities lead tohigher rates of anxiety disorders and schizophrenia, and researchers have found that living in a city boosts activity in your amygdala — the part of your brain that’s associated with memory and emotional intelligence — and is affected when someone encroaches on your precious personal space.
There may be a bonus to your lit-up amygdala: researchers also speculate that activity in this area helps you remember more faces. That’s a useful skill in the big city!
Polluted air
Big cities have another drawback: smog. The connection between air pollutants and physical health is well-documented, but you may be surprised to learn about the connection between gross air andmentalhealth, too.
While further study is needed, areview of current literatureindicates it’s quite likely that polluted air leads to an increase in mental health problems.Another studyfound that toxins like lead and solvent can lead to disturbances in behavior — like limiting one’s ability to self-regulate or increasing aggression.
Poor light
Don’t ignore the seriousness ofseasonal affective disorderthe appropriately-acronymed SAD. A lack of natural light can kickstart a deep depression, making it oh-so-important to get into the sun whenever possible. And during the long winter, when there’s no sun to be seen in much of the country, consider aSAD lamp. No, it may not eliminate theseasonal bluesentirely, but there is evidence that it might help.
But it’s not just winter lighting that can affect your mood. Your office lighting might put you down in the dumps, too.Poor interior lightingcan lead to a range of mental disorders — think stress and anxiety — especially when paired with a high-pressure environment. Bad lighting can also make it harder to sleep at night, damaging your long-term mental health.
The ocean and parks
For many people, nothing’s more delightfully meditative than sitting on a beach staring at the ocean. Research backs up this serene experience — especially if your home has a water view.A recent New Zealand studyfound that looking at an ocean, lake, or even a canal provides a calming effect.
Unless you hate sand: Then maybe you prefer lying in a grassy field, staring at the sky. If you prefer your scenic landscapes green, there’s hope there, too.Anxiety and depression rates are higherin areas without parks and green spaces. If you’re living in an urban environment and worried about your mental health, consider a move: Study participants experienced immediate mental health improvements when theylived closer to nature.
Tailoring your environment to your mental health can have dramatic benefits. But if you think your surroundings are causing psychological distress or damage, don’t be afraid to talk to a licensed mental health professional. They can help pinpoint the exact causes — and work with you to develop a tailor-made solution.
Our goal at Talkspace is to provide the most up-to-date, valuable, and objective information on mental health-related topics in order to help readers make informed decisions.
Articles contain trusted third-party sources that are either directly linked to in the text or listed at the bottom to take readers directly to the source.
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