Why small tasks like watering plants or folding laundry are so therapeutic

Tidying up the desk, watering the plants or folding the laundry: these household chores are far from the height of hedonism. Yet I often catch myself yearning the pleasure and comfort of that kind of small repetitive tasks.

If I’m expecting an important phone call, or haven’t been able to write a word of the article I’m due, I’ll inevitably reorganize my record collection or clean up the scattered papers in my office, and feel very relaxed.

I’m not the only one. Facing the stress of the pandemic, Many reported finding a renewed interest in caring for their homes as a way of coping with uncertainty.

Even on YouTube there are videos of people doing their housework, with millions of views for the most popular.

Psychologists point out that there are many potential mechanisms that could explain the perfect pleasure of hanging out on small tasks, and possibly even encourage you to do it more often.

On the surface, it can be helpful because it occupies the mind, and we spend less time worrying. If structured forms of meditation, for example, are not difficult, household chores can anchor us in the here and now.

But that will depend on where we put our focus.

In a study in which participants were asked to wash dishes, those who fully engaged with the sensory experience reported significantly better moods.

This included a reduction in nervousness and even a feeling of “inspiration”as if immersion in the simple activity had refreshed their minds.

Unlike other distracting activities like playing computer games or watching TV, small tasks have the advantage of being proactive and helpfulwhich increases our “perceived control”.

When we feel anxious, a feeling of helplessness can increase the physiological response to stress, increasing levels of hormones such as cortisol.

In the long term, the feeling of helplessness can even damage the function of the immune system.

Ideally, we would deal directly with the disturbing situation itself. But research indicates that we can gain a perception of control from activities that have little effect on the situation that is bothering us.

“It doesn’t necessarily have to align with actual control, as long as we believe or feel like we’re in control,” says Stacey Bedwell, a psychologist at the Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience at King’s College London.

Simply being able to change our environment can create a sense of agency that is beneficialhe says, which may explain why cleaning and organizing our homes can be so therapeutic.

Some of the most intriguing evidence comes from studies of older people.

A classic study is that of Professor Ellen Langer at Harvard University and Professor Judith Rodin at Yale University.

It was held in a nursing home, where the participants were divided into two groups.

to the first they were allowed to take over his roomarranging the furniture as they wanted, and they were given a plant that they had to take care of themselves.

The second group was told that the staff could take care of everything; they didn’t even have to water their plant.

Over the next 18 months, residents who were encouraged to take responsibility for their room enjoyed better physical health and were less likely to die.

It is possible that these participants exercised slightly more than the others. However, given the research on the negative effects of helplessness, Langer and Rodin argued that the benefit was primarily psychological in originstemming from their increased sense of control over their lives.

The benefits do not end there.

If your small tasks are to organize and order, in the end a more orderly environment is in itself a form of consolation.

As University of Michigan psychologist Ethan Kross writes in his book “Chatter: The Voice in Our Heads and How to Harness It”: “We are embedded in our physical spaces, and the different characteristics of these spaces activate psychological forces within us, which affect how we think and feel.

“If we see order outside, that helps us feel a little less chaotic inside..

“[Es] comforting because it makes life easier to navigate and more predictable.”

Bedwell points out that this can be evidenced in your ability to concentrate.

“If you’re sitting at the kitchen table with your laptop surrounded by clutter, there are a lot of visual stimuli your brain has to continually process as you try to focus on the task at hand,” he says.

“Eliminate visual clutter and you’ll be able to focus much more easily.”

Brain imaging studies support this view.

In general, much greater brain activity is observed as the number of distracting objects within a scene increases, with each object competing for our attention. This can cause your brain to tire and struggle to maintain its focus during long periods of concentration.

Importantly, you don’t need to remove clutter to prevent this from happening, just rearrange it.

Organizing objects into groups, by color, for example, can provide the brain with more obvious clues for navigating the chaosreducing some of the neural confusion and improving focus.

By reducing anxiety, calming stress responses, increasing focus, and triggering the release of endorphins, it’s no wonder many of us jump into chores as soon as we’re faced with uncertainty.

Like all activities, the scope of these benefits will be influenced by your personal tastes and the associations you associate with the tasks.

We know, for example, that the effects of exercises like running can be moderated by people’s mentality; those who leave with the expectation of returning with a clear mind afterwards are the most likely to succeed. Sorting, cleaning, classifying and tidying will be no different.

If you are averse to housework and only pick up a rag under pressure, you will not enjoy these pleasures.

But we homebodies can now understand why our fruitful restlessness can be a balm for the restless mind. (F)

* David Robson is a science writer and author of The Expectation Effect: How Your Mindset Can Transform Your Life.