Personal Perspective: Taking down holiday decorations can feel like an exhale. Research suggests clutter raises stress—so clearing visual noise may help your nervous system reset.
Research links stressful home environments to cortisol patterns associated with chronic stress.Taking decorations down can be a nervous system reset—not a loss of joy or holiday spirit. For most of my adult life, I’ve fought taking down the holiday decorations.
As someone with a strict “no tree until the turkey is stored” policy, I try to stretch the holiday feels for as long as humanly possible. Every year, myclients notice when my twinkling pink tree goes up behind me. And every year we have the conversation about how, just maybe, because it’s pink, I can count it as a Valentine’s Day tree and keep it up even longer. And yet, this year, something shifted. As soon as the New Year had officially rung in, I began slowly pestering my husband about bringing in the boxes to store our ornaments and seasonal decor. Even the display of Christmas cards from family and friends, which makes me feel a little more connected each season, was quickly stacked into a single bundle propped beside our window.closure: in many Catholic households, the Christmas season extends through Epiphany and officially concludes with the Feast of the Baptism of the Lord, which typically falls the following Sunday—when the decor traditionally comes down .abound about how the children of the boomer generation feel overstimulated by clutter. Having grown up amidst a sea of trinkets and little objects lining windows, kitchen sinks, and side tables, to us, beauty is a cleared-off counter. The minimalism movement has taken off just as millennials have come of homeownership age. Having also come to adulthood amidst economic crises and chronic fears of recessions, we’ve also had to beof how much “stuff” we can afford and therefore accumulate. But there is also a science behind all of this.on minimalism found five major benefits resulting from minimalistic lifestyles. These included positive emotions, a sense of competence, autonomy, awareness, and mental space. In other words, less visual clutter may create more psychological breathing room., taxing the brain’s ability to focus and process information—meaning the relief of clearing space may be partly neurological. In the end, taking down the holiday decorations isn’t always about moving on from joy—it’s often about moving toward regulation. When the world already feels loud, cluttered, and demanding, our nervous systems don’t need more stimulation; they need fewer inputs. Sometimes, the most calming thing you can do for youris to reduce the visual noise. Clearing space can be a small but powerful way of signaling safety to the brain, restoring a sense of control, and making room for what actually matters. So, if you feel a sense of relief once the ornaments are boxed up, it may not mean you’re grinchy at all. It may simply mean your nervous system is asking for a reset.https://doi.org/10.1007/s41042-020-00030-2 Saxbe, D. E., & Repetti, R. L. . No place like home: Home tours correlate with daily patterns of mood and cortisol.Cut-offs cut deep and wide, their emotional impact reverberating far beyond the combatants. Because much of the suffering is hidden, repair is challenging for everyone, not least of all therapists.Self Tests are all about you. Are you outgoing or introverted? Are you a narcissist? Does perfectionism hold you back? Find out the answers to these questions and more with Psychology Today.
United States Latest News, United States Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
The Horror of Trump's Press Conference From a Venezuelan PerspectiveMichelle Ellner is a Latin America campaign coordinator of CODEPINK. She was born in Venezuela and holds a bachelor’s degree in languages and international affairs from the University La Sorbonne Paris IV, in Paris.
Read more »
Putting Raiders' Ashton Jeanty's Season into Proper PerspectiveLas Vegas Raiders rookie running back Ashton Jeanty quietly had a productive season.
Read more »
Talkin' Hockey: New year, new perspectiveAdam Mikulich and Adrian Denny take a look at the Utah Mammoth at the halfway point of the season.There are a lot of home games headed to the Delta Center in t
Read more »
Personal Perspective: Betrayal by a trusted partner wounds the heart and soul.Understanding moral injury is vitally important because it gives an explanation of why wife abandonment is an existential wound that makes one question what life's all about.
Read more »
Personal Perspective: Reflection as preparation for the path ahead.How 2026 invites us to rebuild, renew, and restore with purpose.
Read more »
Personal Perspective: On getting it right versus having an adventure.Personal Perspective: AI induces us to emphasize knowing over the pleasure of finding out.
Read more »