Is Your Messy House Making You Sick? Clutter, Cortisol, and the Invisible Mental Load

Is the clutter in your home actually messing with your health—or are you just “too sensitive”? In this episode of Misperceived, Professor Leah Ruppaner breaks down the science on clutter, stress, and the mental load, including a landmark UCLA study showing that women who describe their homes as cluttered and unfinished have elevated cortisol patterns across the day, while men in the same homes don’t show the same spike. Leah unpacks why a messy house hits women harder, how invisible labor and constant “noticing” turn piles of stuff into a 24/7 to‑do list, and why you are not the problem for feeling overwhelmed by dishes, laundry, and half‑done projects.

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You’ll learn:

• How clutter, disorganization, and “unfinished” spaces are linked to women’s cortisol, mood, and long‑term health.
• Why gendered expectations around housework and presentation of the home make women feel personally judged by the mess, even when everyone lives in it.
• Practical ways to lower your mental load without turning yourself into the unpaid project manager of everyone else’s stuff—plus how to claim one restorative space that’s just for you.

Follow Leah: @prof.leahruppanner

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