Washing the dishes can seem like a huge chore sometimes. Especially after having a long day at school or work. When you’re physically and mentally too drained to think about any household chores. However, as much you hate doing the dishes, according to a study, washing the dishes can actually reduce levels of stress, considerably. Although, there’s a catch – it needs to be done mindfully! Meaning, you need to be well-aware of what you’re doing.
According to a recent study, washing dishes can actually decrease stress levels!
A study was conducted in Florida State University, where 51 students were made to wash the dishes. Before washing the dishes, half of these students were made to read a short mindfulness dishwashing passage. Whereas, the other half were made to read a short descriptive dishwashing passage. While the descriptive passage was quite straightforward, the mindfulness passage focused on being present mentally.
Doctoral candidate in FSU College of Education’s Counseling/School Psychology program and lead study author Adam Hanley said, “I was particularly interested in how the mundane activities in life could be used to promote a mindful state and, thus, increase overall sense of well-being.”
The research found washing the dishes lowered the students’ stress by 25 percent and nervousness levels by 27 percent. While washing the dishes, these students were told to smell the soap, feel the temperature of the water and touch the dishes. On the contrary, there was no decrease in the levels of stress in the group that did not wash the dishes mindfully.
The study author concluded, “It appears that an everyday activity approached with intentionality and awareness may enhance the state of mindfulness.”
The size of the study was relatively small with only 51 students, therefore, it would need to be replicated. In addition to dishwashing, researchers suggest that mindfulness can be incorporated to a number of different activities for reducing stress and improving psychological well-being.
References
Hanley, A. W., Warner, A. R., Dehili, V. M., Canto, A. I., & Garland, E. L. (2015). Washing dishes to wash the dishes: brief instruction in an informal mindfulness practice. Mindfulness, 6(5), 1095-1103.
