Spring time might be the popular time to clean up and refresh your life, but that does not mean it is the only time you can do so. Refreshing your space and resetting your health can be a great thing to do regardless of the time of year. As we head into the beginning of a new season, it is important to reflect on your inner and external health. Our environment can be a great reflection of how we are feeling on the inside and vice versa. Before we dive into how to participate in a ‘new season reset’, take some time to reflect on how you are feeling and how these spaces reflect your emotions.
How Can Clutter Impact Digestion and Mental Health
When we focus on our digestive health, the status of our personal spaces might not be the first thing to come to mind, but you would be surprised how much of an impact this can have on your health. Due to the gut-brain connection, our mental health status heavily impacts our digestive health and the potential negative symptoms we might be experiencing.
So, how does clutter and mental health connect? Well, when we are feeling especially down, stressed, or anxious, these emotions tend to translate into a messy environment. Our hygiene practices can be one of the first things that fall to the wayside when it comes to experiencing negative emotions. A busy life also tends to connect to a cluttered environment. The cluttered environment can add on to the negative emotions we might already be feeling and trigger digestive complications such as indigestion and constipation.
Clutter in the kitchen can also lead to digestive complications. When we allow our dishes to pile up and our fridge to be overrun with leftovers and tupperware, we are less inclined to spend time in the kitchen. Instead, we might turn to quick and easy meal solutions such as fast food or frozen dinners. While these choices are not necessarily harmful when consumed in moderation, eating these foods more consistently can lead to unhealthy eating habits and a lack of essential nutrients such as fiber.
Lastly, when we allow our hygienic practices to fall to the wayside, we are less likely to participate in physical activity. If you are someone who has recently struggled with making time for self-care, odds are you are not prioritizing physical activity. Physical activity is essential for many aspects of one’s overall well being, but especially digestive health. A sedentary lifestyle can greatly impact your body’s ability to have regular bowel movements and to avoid inflammation or bloating.
Spaces to Clean In Your Environment For a Happier Version of Yourself
Now that we understand how clutter can impact your health, let’s dive into how we can shape up our environment to be helpful rather than hurtful.
- Clean Your Bedroom - We spend so much of our lives sleeping, and yet, we often forget to give our room the love and care it needs to be in tip-top shape. Something as simple as changing out your sheets and dusting off your shelves can completely transform your bedroom. People often allow for their rooms to become cluttered with piles of forgotten clean laundry and water cups. Take some time to shape up your room and make it a space you look forward to coming back to at the end of the day.
- Your Home Office - In this day and age, it is incredibly common to work from home or to bring work home from the office. While we recommend boundaries between your work and your personal life for stability in your mental health, we understand that this might not always be possible. Switching up your home environment to make it a place where you can feel comfortable yet productive is crucial to success. For some this might mean a more stark office environment while others might succeed in a more creative looking environment. Take some time to figure out what is right for you!
- Clean Your Bathroom - Proper personal hygiene is a crucial part to leading a healthy life. Practices such as a skincare routine and proper oral healthcare can help us to feel more confident in ourselves and thus more motivated. The bathroom is a space that is easy to forget about, so be sure to give it the attention it deserves from time to time to make your hygiene routine experience more pleasurable.
How to Clean Your Gut For a Fresh Start to Digestive Health
Sometimes, our gut health can get out of control and we can feel overwhelmed by a load of digestive complications. When this happens, it can feel incredibly frustrating and like there is no end in sight. However, that is not the case. Digestive complications can be eliminated with the following digestive health habits!
- Hydration - Drinking water is a simple yet effective way to take care of your digestive health. Water helps just about all of the different processes your body is responsible for managing. When someone is dehydrated, they are more likely to experience headaches, constipation, or diarrhea. If you struggle with drinking water, try to find ways to make it more enjoyable such as adding lemon or fruit to your water!
- Avoid Irritants - Our guts can be irritated by a number of different things including processed foods, alcohol, caffeine, and foods that many are sensitive to such as dairy. Try to avoid foods that you know your body does not agree with.
- Utilize Supplements - Supplements that help with bloating and other digestive complications are a great way to give your gut consistent support. From bloating supplements that contain gut health enzymes to probiotic supplements, the options for proper gut health are endless.
- Increase Your Fiber Intake - Sometimes an unstable gut can be due to constipation. Constipation might mean that you have backed up waste just sitting in your digestive tract. Fiber can be a great way to get your digestive tract up and running. Foods such as pears, figs, and avocados are great sources of fiber.