I had no idea that my messy bedroom was contributing to my 3 am wake-ups — two sleep experts explain why, plus how to declutter for better rest

As a sleep editor, I write often about how curating a relaxing nighttime routine can set you up for deep, restorative rest. In reality, I often sweep the folded laundry from my bed straight onto my already cluttered floor, crawl into bed and fall asleep quickly. Yay, exhaustion.

I’ve written before about how I often then wake up at 3am, with my heart pounding in my chest. In my quest for answers from leading sleep doctors about why this is happening, I’m learning how raised cortisol levels, caused by stress and anxiety, is the likely culprit.

Do you know what else causes cortisol to spike? Clutter. Here, board certified psychiatrist Dr Nona Kocher, MDH, MD, and Dr. William Lu, MD, a sleep medicine physician, discuss the link between bedroom clutter, cortisol and the ability to stay asleep all night.

Plus, professional organizer Olivia Parks, owner and lead organizer at Professional Organizers Baton Rouge, shares her bedroom decluttering tips for those, like me, who hate tidying up.

The link between clutter and increased cortisol levels

Most of us are familiar with the phrase ‘messy bed, messy head.’ However, there’s a raft of scientific research that supports the thinking that if your environment is cluttered and messy, your stress and anxiety levels rise.

Studies show that women in particular are impacted by clutter in the home. So when there’s clutter in the bedroom, which is the last thing you encounter before going to sleep, it’s a trigger for feelings of angst.

“The bedroom should be the one place where your nervous system is allowed to let down,” Dr Kocher told me when I first spoke to her about how I suspected my bombsite of a bedroom was destroying my sleep.

“However, when it’s scattered with piles of clothes, stacks of papers, half-finished projects or visual chaos, the brain doesn’t interpret that as ‘resting.’ It interprets that as ‘unfinished business'," she explains.

"Clutter promotes a low-grade state of alertness,” the doctor adds.

You might not think that brushing a stack of paperwork to one side so you can place a glass of water on your bedside table will have any real bearing on your sleep quality, but it does, warns Dr Kocher.

“Even if you’re not consciously thinking about the clothes, or the bills, or the emails, your mind is keeping score of what needs to be done,” says the board-certified psychiatrist at quintessence psychiatry.

“And that background chatter keeps your cortisol a little bit higher than it needs to be for sleep, which means it’s harder to fall asleep, and easier to wake at night.”

What does cortisol have to do with waking up at 3am?

Our bodies naturally begin releasing cortisol at around 3am in order to help us feel alert when we wake up. This, explains Dr Lu, is called the Cortisol Awakening Response (CAR).

“The Cortisol Awakening Response is when your cortisol begins to rise early in the morning, a few hours before you get out of bed, which transitions your body from sleep to wake by raising blood sugar, blood pressure, and mental readiness,” says Dr Lu, Medical Director at digital sleep clinic Dreem Health.

“However, if this increase happens too early it can wake you at 3 or 4 am. This usually happens when you are on high alert from stress, anxiety, or blood sugar instability," he explains.

Clutter causes stress, and stress causes the brain to flood the body with cortisol. So, when our baseline cortisol levels are pushed up by the mess in our bedrooms, it can be enough to cause us to wake up in the middle of the night.

3 simple strategies for decluttering for people who hate tidying

Whether it’s the chair that’s become a dumping ground for clothes that are neither quite clean or dirty enough for their proper homes or a busy nightstand, don’t kid yourself that the mess in your bedroom doesn’t impact your sleep.

But if you’re battling stress and anxiety, there’s a very good reason why your bedroom has become disordered and you feel incapable of tidying it. “When anxiety is high, even the thought of cleaning or organizing can feel exhausting or paralyzing,” explains Dr Kocher.

Here, Olivia, an LA based professional organizer, shares her bedroom decluttering tips for those who find it hard to tidy up.

1. Set a timer for 15 minutes

First, set a timer for 15 minutes, recommends Olivia. “[Pick a time] that feels manageable to you, and stop when the timer ends,” says Olivia, who advises that you can begin by simply removing everything from one surface that doesn’t belong.

“Small, quick wins like this will help keep the momentum of decluttering your bedroom,” she says.

2. Start small and make it easy

“When people feel overwhelmed, I always recommend starting small and making it easy for yourself,” says Olivia. “Start by picking one area in the bedroom you'd like to declutter first, something that feels manageable.”

Don't attempt to declutter the whole bedroom at once. Instead, opt for a nightstand, one drawer, or one corner of your floor.

3. Listen to music or your favorite podcast

“I'd also recommend making the decluttering more enjoyable by turning on one of your favorite podcasts or playlists so it feels less like work,” says Olivia.

“The biggest thing is just to start somewhere, because even a small improvement can make the entire bedroom feel lighter.”

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