Neurosurgeon spills the beans on why our brain likes organized spaces

If you've ever felt at peace after cleaning your room or work desk, there's an interesting scientific reason behind it.

PUBLISHED APR 6, 2025

(L) Woman in messy living room, demotivated and overstimulated. (R) Woman calmly and energetically working at a desk. (Representative Cover Image Source: Pexels | (L) Leeloothefirst; (R) Ketut Subiyanto)

There must have been times when you walked into a clean and organized room and became extremely fascinated. Perhaps you have often taken the task of decluttering or cleaning your room and closet when you feel off and agitated. If you do that, it turns out there is a scientific reason why our brain is more inclined towards an organized space. It is not just that we love clearing our work desks or favorite areas, but it also adds productivity. Neurosurgeon Dr. Sanjay Gupta spilled the beans on the topic in a podcast, "Chasing Life," per CNN. A 22-year-old woman named Annie posed the question of whether an organized space can play a role in our happiness and peace of mind.

Woman exhausted and discouraged after looking at cluttered room. (Representative Image Source: Pexels| Photo by cottonbro studio)

Dr. Gupta broke it down and explained in detail why the latter makes sense. He recalled his own teenage and young adult daughters having evolved. He revealed that initially, they had trouble decluttering, but over time, that changed drastically. “There's the old adage that a cluttered space leads to a cluttered mind,” the neurosurgeon remarked. He noted that he agreed with the saying to a certain extent, as it was backed by research. “Research has shown that living in a cluttered environment can trigger anxiety and stress. It can also trigger something that I've come to describe as 'cognitive burden,'” he explained.

Person decluttering room and segregating items. (Representative Image Source: Pexels| Photo by RDNE Stock Project)

Breaking it down further, the expert mentioned that, as human beings, we have a certain amount of “cognitive resilience.” The latter gets soaked up by the cluttered spaces and what’s left is a “cognitive burden.” “So the space that we live in affects our mood, our stress and overall wellbeing,” Dr. Gupta added. Getting more relatable with the audience, the neurosurgeon revealed that this seemingly simple task of decluttering can often seem spiteful because of its initial phase. The starting point is always hard, as there is a “sense of chaos” as one figures out how to go about the process.

Woman calmly working at organized office desk. (Representative Image Soure: Pexels| Photo by Mikhail Nilov)

Think of the time you chose to declutter your room. You may have gotten discouraged or frustrated trying to decide whether to start with the closet, dressing room or bed. KC Davis, a therapist, chimed in, “Doing tasks like laundry, dishes, picking up toys or whatever it is, takes a lot of executive functioning. And executive functioning skills happen in your prefrontal cortex.” She added that the latter is what sends signals of what to do, which process to follow and so on. “If there's some disruption to your executive functions, you look at the dishes and go, 'I gotta do the dishes.' And you somehow can't. What happens next? You feel frozen or overwhelmed,” Davis pointed out.

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This process of decluttering can have an impact on how our brain functions and the signals it sends to create a mood or send a feeling. “The key is to not make yourself feel bad about it because when you beat yourself up or label yourself as lazy for not tackling the simple task, that's not motivating. That's additionally draining. That adds to the cognitive load,” Dr. Gupta explained. He offered another suggestion, “Your space does impact your mental state. So find a way to bring calm to your surroundings. That can boost your happiness, reduce your anxiety and make you feel more content.”