Hello, and welcome to this month’s BrainBlog! Today, let’s talk about how life is messy, unpredictable, and never goes exactly according to plan—and how that affects our brain function.
A mess is defined as a disordered, untidy, offensive, or unpleasant state. Let’s break this down and explore how our brain perceives and reacts to these conditions. A cluttered or messy environment overloads the brain with visual stimuli, making it harder to process information efficiently. A simple example is choosing what to wear from an unorganized closet—you can’t see all the options properly, yet you’re simultaneously overwhelmed by too many choices! Studies show that excess clutter raises cortisol levels (the stress hormone), increasing anxiety.
Our brain prefers order. Messy surroundings compete for our attention, making it difficult to concentrate. Neuroscientific research suggests that clutter reduces working memory capacity, slowing down information processing. Disorganization forces the brain to work harder, leading to decision fatigue—the more distractions in our environment, the more mental energy is wasted filtering out irrelevant details instead of focusing on what truly matters.
And let’s be honest—no one ever feels truly happy or at peace in a messy space. A cluttered room can lead to mental clutter, making it harder to relax and sleep. Poor sleep, in turn, affects memory consolidation, mood regulation, and cognitive performance. Simply put, a messy environment often leads to a messy mind, which can spill over into a messy life.
Now, I completely understand that keeping everything—your room, office desk, or life—tidy at all times is unrealistic. Sometimes, we’re simply too overwhelmed to organize or clean, and that’s okay. Fortunately, a bit of controlled chaos can actually enhance creativity, encouraging out-of-the-box thinking. The key is balance—too much disorder can be counterproductive, but a little flexibility allows for innovation. Children thrive in unstructured play, yet routines provide them with a sense of security. Similarly, our thoughts may be scattered at first, but with time and introspection, patterns emerge. This brings us to the importance of clearing mental chaos. While psychological disorder is a vast topic in itself, one essential takeaway is that disorder is inevitable, but creating order is intentional. As game developer and private astronaut (check out this guy!) Richard Allen Garriott aptly said, “Chaos and order are not enemies, only opposites. Chaos and order combined equal balance.”
So dear all, here’s a gentle reminder: eat on time, sleep and wake up on time, create a schedule that suits you, tidy your room, home ,and office space and make time for meditation. A little order goes a long way in calming the mind. 😊
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