Is your messy room keeping you up at night? People at risk for hoarding more prone to sleeping troubles

People at risk of the hoarding disorder report more trouble sleeping than those with low to no risk of hoarding, according to a study published online at the Sleep journal and presented during the SLEEP 2015. It is suggested that a messy bed and bedroom lead to a bad quality of sleep, as junk disrupts rest and induces more distress. This makes those people also more vulnerable to other mental illnesses, such as depression.

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MUNTINLUPA, PHILIPPINES (Catholic Online) - Researchers asked their participants about their hoarding habits and their sleep. Using a Clutter and Hoarding Rating Scale, there were 83 of the participants that were classified as at risk of hoarder disorder.

Meanwhile, 198 of them were deemed low to no risk of the hoarder disorder, based on their scores. Then, they were asked about their sleeping habits using the Sleep Habits Survey (SH) and the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) tests. Findings state that those at risk have reported more sleep troubles than their counterparts.

"Hoarders typically have problems with decision making and executive function; poor sleep is known to compromise cognition generally. So if hoarders have cluttered or unusable bedrooms, and less comfortable, functional beds, any existing risk for cognitive dysfunction, depression and stress may increase as sleep quality worsens," said Dr. Pamela Thacher, psychologist at the St. Lawrence University in New York City.

As compared to their tidier counterparts, individuals with a lot of stuff unorganized in their bedrooms receive less sleep with disturbed rest, which consequently leads them to feel more sleepy and tired throughout the day.

According to The Daily Mail, hoarder disorders are generally characterized with the difficulty of separating with items saved throughout time, even though most people would consider the stuff worthless and trash.

People at risk of this disorder usually tend to have messier places, including their bedrooms where some of the stuff hoarded is placed without much organization. This crowded space creates difficulty in falling asleep.

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