2023-06-13 13:18:38
To reduce our level of physical and psychological stress, it would be enough to practice this surprisingly simple activity, according to a new study. This is something that we even practice on a daily basis, but therefore deserves more attention.
PTo feel less stressed… bet on hygiene ! New research has shown that the fact of wash yourselfto rub, to get clean, or even grooming, would reduce the effects of the usual physical and psychological stressors. As the authors explain in their work published in the May 2023 issue of the journal Social Psychological and Personality Sciencethis was true even when the stressors were not related to dirt, germs and disease.
To reach this conclusion, according to Psychology Todaythe researchers conducted several studies with different panels: a first, made up of 1,161 Britons, a second, made up of 465 Americans, and a third, made up of 74 Canadians. They performed with them different kinds of tests. One of them consisted for example of viewing an anxiety-provoking video on which we saw a rather nervous person preparing to bungee jump. Some then watched an emotionally neutral video – such as hands peeling an egg or drawing a circle – others observed a video of on the best way to wash one’s hands and another group used antiseptic wipes.
Is cleansing really soothing?
THE sentiments on the moment T of all the participants were then testedby measuring in particular their cardiovascular reactivity to stress. “Visual cleaning simulation alleviates residual anxiety caused by a stressful physical scene,” the research authors concluded. “Actual cleaning behavior enhances adaptive cardiovascular reactivity in a highly stressful setting,” they added. .
In summary, the actual cleaning, but also its visual simulation, reduced the effects of physical and psychological stressors. According to psychologist Arash Emamzadeh, this is not surprising. Beyond its public health benefits, cleansing has positive psychological, cultural, and religious meanings related to purity. Indeed, “many religious cleansing and purification rituals involve separating and neutralizing the past bad self from the future good self,” he explained to Psychology Today. “This separation decreases the negative visions one has of oneself and increases the positive visions (being stable, kind, competent, self-confident…), which are important determinants of mental health et well-being”, he detailed.
Read also:
⋙ How to get rid of the micro-stresses that ruin our lives?
⋙ Psycho: Are you often too hard on yourself? You may be suffering from emotional self-invalidation
⋙ Mental health: what is “conscious slowing down”, this method for better managing stress?
⋙ This is the most effective way to reduce stress, according to a psychologist
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