Making the bed every morning is often presented as an essential ritual for a successful day that reduces stress and strengthens self-control. However, a scientific review prepared by biologist Hugo Francisco de Souza for the medical portal News-Medical suggests that the real effects of this action are largely exaggerated, infohub.kz reports.
According to findings from behavioral neuroscience and environmental psychology, making the bed clearly illustrates the general laws of habit formation, but there is still no direct scientific evidence of its beneficial effect on cognitive abilities or anxiety levels.
From the perspective of cognitive science, habit consolidation links a stable contextual trigger — getting out of bed — with a simple action, which over time shifts its performance into automatic mode. This reduces the expenditure of conscious resources on decision-making in the morning. At the same time, automating a specific ritual does not mean overall development of the brain's executive functions: it does not train working memory and does not make a person more productive in other tasks. In addition, the involvement of the neurotransmitter dopamine in consolidating behavioral patterns does not confirm the popular claim of an instant "dopamine boost" from tidying up the sleeping area.
The influence of order in one's surroundings is also ambiguous. Experiments show that visual chaos creates competing signals in the visual cortex, distracting attention. A study involving 290 office workers in the United States linked stress and emotional burnout to the accumulation of clutter, but did not prove that cleaning eliminates stress itself. Other laboratory tests found that an orderly environment helps people with weak self-control exercise restraint, whereas participants with high self-control performed better on creative tasks specifically in disorder.
Experts emphasize that the main practical benefit of making the bed in the morning lies in consolidating a predictable daily routine, if it is comfortable for the person. Skipping one day does not destroy a forming neural connection, and developing a lasting skill usually takes weeks. At the same time, scientists recommend not confusing everyday rituals with scientifically proven factors for maintaining cognitive health — such as exposure to natural daylight to regulate circadian rhythms, regular physical activity and maintaining optimal night sleep duration.