3 Reasons Women Get More Overwhelmed By A Messy Home Than Men
It's actually related to the biological functioning of the brain.
New Africa / Shutterstock It’s not hard to see that men and women react very differently to many things, including how clean a house is. It’s easy to assume that this is simply due to gender stereotypes and societal norms.
It turns out that it’s actually backed by science. There is actual evidence to support why women tend to feel more overwhelmed when faced with a messy home.
Instagram account @psychologyposts_ considers themselves to be the “number one community for psychology enthusiasts.” They shared a post with three biological reasons women are more affected by messy homes than men.
Olesya Myzzz / Shutterstock
According to Psychology Posts, “When faced with a cluttered environment, the brain’s prefrontal cortex, which is responsible for decision-making and emotional regulation, becomes overwhelmed. For women, this response is more intense due to differences in brain chemistry and structure.”
Here are three reasons that women are more overwhelmed by messy homes than men:
1. Cortisol release
Being in a messy environment can lead to higher levels of cortisol in women but not in men.
Psychology Posts said, “Clutter triggers the hypothalamus to signal the adrenal glands to release cortisol, the stress hormone. In women, this process happens more quickly and intensely.”
WebMD backed this information up. “In one study,” they said, “women who saw their homes as cluttered had high levels of the stress hormone cortisol throughout the day, while those who described their abode as a well-organized, restful space had lower levels.”
When a woman sees a cluttered space, she automatically feels anxious because her body has high levels of cortisol, the stress hormone. Women feel this more keenly than men do because of the intense way in which this process occurs in their bodies.
2. Heightened sensitivity
Again, it all comes back to stress for women. According to Psychology Posts, “Women have a more reactive limbic system (the emotional center of the brain), making them more sensitive to their surroundings. This sensitivity can amplify stress responses.”
Neuroscience News reported on a study that found this to be true. The researchers “observed that certain areas of the brains of women and men, especially those of the limbic system, react differently when exposed to negative images.”
Many would consider a messy home to be a negative image or, at the very least, not a positive one. When women see this kind of image, they are more likely to feel stressed because of it.
So, again, this sensitivity in the limbic system can lead to higher releases of cortisol.
3. Emotional impact
Emotions are processed differently in women than men. This can affect the way the genders recognize and feel stress.
Psychology Posts stated, “The brain associates clutter with chaos and lack of control, leading to feelings of anxiety and stress. Women are more likely to internalize these feelings due to higher activity in brain regions related to emotional processing.”
Daily Science reported on a study that proved this to be true. “Women rate emotional images as more emotionally stimulating than men do and are more likely to remember them,” they said.
Since women are more likely to remember these images, they process them differently than men do. For example, a woman will process and interpret an image of clutter on a deeper scale than a man.
Being more affected by a messy home is not the same as being weak.
Just because a woman is more overwhelmed by a messy home than a man is does not have any bearing on her emotional status. It certainly does not mean she is less strong in some way.
Being more affected by a messy home also does not mean that you should be the one who has to clean it all up.
Mary-Faith Martinez is a writer for YourTango who covers entertainment, news and human interest topics.