How Your Cluttered Desk Could Be Keeping You From Working Out

Envision this: you’re at your desk, wrapping up your last project of the day, sending your final few emails. It’s about 4:55, and you know you’ve got that after-work workout booked at 5:30 . . . but you’re exhausted. So exhausted, that despite the fact that you’ve already paid for the class, you’re going straight home to hit the hay. Sound familiar?

Your issue may not be a lack of caffeine. Look around at your desk right now — is it pretty messy?

We all know the concept of feng shui, where one’s environment has a direct impact on their energy, but clutter may be wearing on you even more than you think. According to some studies at Princeton University, “visual clutter competes with our brain’s ability to pay attention and tires out our cognitive functions over time.”

Related: Feng Shui Tips

The mess on your desk sits there and silently tires you out little by little — simply by existing — as it wears on the “limited processing capacity of [your] visual system.” Additionally, a 2012 study at UCLA remarked that cluttered environments were correlated to cortisol spikes, meaning more mess equals more stress. It’s science.

This mental fatigue can be exhausting, and is often be perceived as physical fatigue as well. Hence, that mess on your desk might be keeping you from working out. To make matters worse, those unbalanced cortisol levels can contribute to weight gain, particularly in the tummy. What we’re trying to say is, clean your desk.

So you know what to do now, right?

Image Source: POPSUGAR Photography / Maria Del Rio