Is it possible that poor food choices are connected to a messy desk?
In Brisbane right now we are experiencing very humid and hot days up to 43 degrees which makes it hard to function effectively. I often feel lethargic and drained of energy. As a result of this I find that the household and office chores get put on the back burner and I find myself wallowing in more than a bit of mess. Papers and stuff everywhere!
I have also noticed that when I work in this messy environment my eating habits take a downward turn and rather than eating healthy, nutritious and smaller amounts I find myself eating more and making poor food choices. I also find that my tolerance and patience levels are much lower and I become a bit grumpy. So what’s going on?
According to a recent study conducted by University of Minisota’s Psychologist Kathleen Vohs, working in a clean work space seems to encourage people to be more kind hearted towards others and make healthier food choices. Before you start cleaning up the mess the study also showed that there are some benefits to working in a messy room in one experiment both groups were asked to come up with new uses for ping pong balls. Although both group came up with around the same number of ideas the messy group had more interesting and creative ideas. When looking and assessing new products the messy group liked the novel and more innovative product whereas the clean room people preferred the more conventional product.
Surprisingly the physical location didn’t matter. “We used 6 different locations in our paper – the specifics of the room were not important. Just making the environment tidy or unkempt made a whopping difference in people’s behaviour” said Vohn “The next step is to see if these effects might even transfer to a virtual environment: the Internet.” So next time you are struggling with eating the wrong thing or need to get those creative juices flowing consider the state of your office and take back control. Another good example of the subconscious at work. For more information about this research Physical Order Produces Health Choices.
For more information about weight loss, motivation or clearing your mind call Elaine on 0407744566.