The Hidden Signs: Teenage Depression and Room Organization

In most cases, having a messy room is normal for teenagers. However, excessively messy rooms may have a deeper cause.

Today, we discuss the signs to look out for to identify whether a young adult is depressed.

We explore the importance of mess-free rooms for a teenager’s mental health. Plus, we give you tips on how to help teens keep their rooms tidy!

The Importance of a Mess-Free Room

Here’s why it’s important to keep a room mess-free.

• Improved Focus: According to Psychology Today, clutter impacts your ability to focus. It makes it difficult for your brain to process information and overloads your memory.
• Better Mood: Clutter makes people more irritable and less productive. Addressing the mess will calm you and improve your mental health.
• Control: Messy rooms can overwhelm people, causing them to feel frustrated and depressed. Cleaning the room makes you feel less helpless and more in control.
• Enhanced Sleep: Clutter affects how fast you sleep because of overstimulation. By clearing the mess, you improve your quality of sleep.
• Health Benefits: Dust that collects in messy rooms lowers the air quality. Cleaning helps you avoid health issues like asthma, fever, cardiovascular disease, and lung cancer!

Is Your Teenager’s Messy Room a Sign of Depression?

Messy rooms are normal to an extent. The mess could be a sign of creative freedom and independence for young adults.

That said, other factors can also cause people to have messy rooms. In some cases, it can be a sign of depression, emotional dysregulation, or even ADHD.

Here’s how you can tell if there’s more to the mess than laziness.

• Slipping grades
• Isolation and unwillingness to come out
• Changes in sleep patterns
• A drop in hygiene
• Sudden bursts of anger and uncontrolled emotions
• Binge eating or a drop in appetite
• Sudden shifts in cleaning habits

Should You Help Teenagers Clean Their Rooms?

In an interview with Parent Map, developmental psychologist Dr. Saul Rosenthal says you may not want to clean a teenager’s room.

Adolescence is when kids develop their identities, and their bedroom is the one space in the house where they can be free. If the teenager has no depression, parents should just allow them to discover their style.

Still, you can set boundaries on basic hygiene. This means setting rules like no dirty dishes or discarded food wrappers, which may attract bugs.

Moreover, you can work with your teenagers and redecorate their room to set them up for success!

5 Tips for Designing a Depression-Free Bedroom for Teenagers

Here are five tips for boosting your teenager’s mood through interior design.

Design with Sunlight

Sunlight in a bedroom should be a basic human right. According to Healthline, sunlight increases the serotonin levels in our bodies and boosts our mood.

Additionally, sunlight increases vitamin D development in our bodies. It helps with weight loss, lowers blood pressure, and helps build stronger bones.

Filling your teen’s room with sunlight improves their sleep by regulating the circadian rhythm. It also fights depression, strengthens immunity, and reduces stress.

How to Increase Light in Bedrooms

To ensure your teenager has adequate sunlight, you can follow these tips.

• Take Advantage of Mirrors: Thoughtfully placed mirrors can bounce sunlight off walls. You may install large mirrors to spread the sunlight across the room.
• Buy New Curtains: Another tip is to replace heavy curtains with ones that allow light to pass through.
• Consider Solar Tubes: Solar tubes are an affordable alternative to skylights. These are simple devices that carry light from outside through the roof.
• Place Lamps in Dark Areas: If dark corners remain in the room, you can use beautiful lighting or therapy lamps.

Paint Uplifting Colors

Studies show that there’s a connection between emotion and color. Certain colors can help us feel more relaxed, while others can agitate us and make us depressed.

Colors also make a room feel larger. Light hues add to the openness of a room, making the space feel airy.

It’s essential to paint a teenager’s room with uplifting colors to boost their mood and calm anxieties. Moreover, you can improve their concentration for study with the right paint.

The Best Colors for a Depression-Free Bedroom

Below are the best colors to use for bedrooms.

• Light Green: By painting a room green, you bring feelings of nature indoors. Green promotes positivity, relaxation, and focus.
• Light Blue: Light blue has a calming effect for relieving anxiety. It can help with insomnia and facilitate better sleep.
• White: White is the best color for reflecting sunlight across the room. It gives the space a feeling of freshness, positivity, and peace.
• Blush Pink: Blush pink can reduce feelings of anger and stress.

Create Relaxing Areas

Your teenager’s bedroom is their only private space in your home. As such, it should be an area where they can recharge after school.

If you’re redecorating the room, do try to set up a space where teens can relax and have fun!

How to Create Relaxing Spaces in a Teenager’s Room

Below are some design ideas teenagers may appreciate in their bedrooms.

• Floor Seatings: Incorporate soft pillows, rugs, and floor seatings into the design. These comfy elements are perfect for hanging out when your teenager has friends over.
• Bathtubs: If you have the space and budget, why not install a bathtub? Doctors say that warm baths improve mental health while promoting sleep and relaxation.
• Book Nooks: For teens who love to read, having a book nook gives them a quiet area to unwind.
• Art Wall: You can let teens unleash their creativity through an art wall. This can be a simple corkboard where they can hang pictures or artwork!

Install Storage Units and Buy Organizers

Keeping mess at bay is easy once you have proper storage units and organizers.

Storage allows you to save space and make room for other activities. The room will feel less cramped and depressing if you have a functional storage system.

Room Storage Ideas to Try

Below are ideas you can use to help teens organize their space.

• Under-Bed Cabinets: Under-bed storage doesn’t encroach on floor space like cabinets would. It lets you keep the mess out of sight while maximizing the space.
• Open Shelving: Open shelving makes the room feel bigger. Having open shelving allows your teenager to display any collections they may have.
• Gallery Wall: You can use hooks, picture frames, and cork boards to DIY a gallery wall for accessories. This is a great way to store jewelry with style.
• Dual-Purpose Storage: Go for furniture with dual purpose to save on space. For instance, a desk or bedside table with cabinets is perfect for storing tiny items.

Decorate with Plants

Finally, you can elevate your teenager’s room with indoor plants.

Researchers say that indoor plants have beneficial effects on a young adult’s mental health. They can reduce stress, symptoms of depression, and negative emotions. Moreover, indoor plants enhance memory retention and give us greater life satisfaction.

The reason why indoor plants combat depression is because we have an inherent connection with nature. Plants provide relief in closed spaces and improve air quality.

Even having photos of plants in the bedroom is better than having none at all!

The Best Indoor Plants for Bedrooms

Below are some of the best indoor plants for a teenager’s room.

• Cacti and Succulents: Cacti and succulents thrive on neglect. They require minimal care and are ideal for a busy teen’s room.
• Pothos: Pothos plants grow well in low light. They also have beautiful trailing foliage, so you can place them on top of shelves.
• Herbs: Herbs are easy to care for as long as they have sunlight. They also smell fantastic and are uplifting!
• Boston Fern: Boston Ferns are one of the best air cleaning plants according to NASA. They thrive in low-lit areas, so your teen won’t have any trouble with it.

How to Encourage Teenagers to Clean Their Room

Of course, combating a messy room to prevent depression isn’t all about design. Sometimes you have to help teenagers form healthy habits as well.

Here are ways to encourage teenagers to clean their room

• Use Positive Reinforcement: You may give an incentive to encourage a teenager to clean their messy room. For example, you can promise them new decor or furniture if they clear the space.
• Set Routines: Teach your kids to allot a few minutes of their day to clean. Let them start small and work their way up.
• Talk to Them: Always tell teens you appreciate it when they keep their room clean.
• Make it a Family Project: Get the whole family involved with the cleaning. The more hands you have, the quicker and more fun it’ll be!

Conclusion

In summary, messy rooms aren’t always a sign of depression. However, if your teen is displaying additional symptoms, then helping them organize their room can help with mental health.

Some ways to design a room are by letting the sun in and painting with uplifting colors. Be sure to create relaxing spaces, provide storage, and decorate with plants.

Finally, it’s best to teach young adults how to build healthy cleaning habits. Remember to talk to your kids and gently encourage them to proactively clean their rooms!