This Viral TikTok Trend Is Normalising Messy Bedrooms – Here’s How the “Five-Minute Surface Reset” Can Protect Your Sleep
Martin Seeley, Senior Sleep Expert at MattressNextDay, urges people to follow the “5-minute surface reset” following concerns on the “messy bedroom” TikTok trend affecting sleep hygiene
“Recently, there has been a TikTok trend doing the rounds where younger people have begun to showcase their messy bedrooms, from cups with maggots and hatched fly eggs to energy drink cans piling up on their bedside tables. While this content is often intended to be tongue-in-cheek, maintaining an unclean and messy bedroom space can have a significant effect on our overall sleep hygiene. For example, a disorganised bedroom can overstimulate the brain, making it harder to unwind and signal to the body that it’s time to rest.
“Visual clutter also increases cognitive load, even if we don’t consciously register it. This can lead to heightened stress levels, which trigger our cortisol hormone. Unfortunately, prolonged exposure to elevated cortisol disrupts your natural circadian rhythm, making it harder to fall asleep and stay asleep. Our bedrooms should be calm, restful spaces that promote relaxation not an extension of the chaos of our daily lives and the presence of mess undermines that atmosphere.
“Alongside this, there are the effects of leaving mouldy food around on general hygiene. Mould produces spores and mycotoxins that can irritate the respiratory system, trigger allergic reactions and even cause inflammation all of which can interfere with breathing during sleep. Additionally, decaying food and rubbish increase indoor bacteria and unpleasant odours, creating an environment that stresses the body and mind. This kind of unhygienic setting can also elevate cortisol levels so beyond being visually off-putting, these habits directly undermine the quality of your sleep and overall health.
“To counter this, try the “5-minute surface reset” before bed, where you spend just five minutes clearing key visual hotspots such as bedside tables, chairs, and the floor around your bed. Box clutter is another simple hack for those struggling to keep a tidy space. Keep a lidded basket or decorative box near your bed for quick stashing out of sight, out of mind. Your bed isn’t a storage space, and keeping it clear reinforces your brain’s association between your mattress and rest, not stress. Sleep hygiene isn’t just about when we go to bed or the temperature of the room; it’s also about the environment we create around us. Tidiness may seem minor, but it plays a vital role in helping our minds and bodies switch off at the end of the day.”
