If you’ve been feeling anxious as of late, you might want to take a look around your house. If it looks as if a bomb just went off, this might be a factor behind your anxiety, as experts are now speaking out to say that there is scientific evidence that clutter causes anxiety.

“Clutter can play a significant role in how we feel about our homes, our workplaces, and ourselves,” explained psychologist Sherrie Bourg Carter. “Messy homes and workspaces leave us feeling anxious, helpless, and overwhelmed. Yet, rarely is clutter recognized as a significant source of stress in our lives.”

Carter went on to explain that there are a number of reasons why there is a correlation between clutter and anxiety. For one thing, clutter overwhelms us and causes our senses to go into overdrive while also making it harder to relax both mentally and physically. Clutter distracts us from what we need to be focusing on at any given moment, and it leads to more anxiety over how much we need to clean up in the future.

Finally, clutter makes it more difficult to be productive and sends signals to our brain that our work is never done.

Studies show that women have worse reactions to clutter than men, and experts found that females living in messy homes had higher levels of cortisol, which is a stress hormone.

If you have been feeling anxiety lately, Carter said that cleaning and decluttering your home could be a great way to relieve the symptoms.

Carter says that you should start by throwing away items that you don’t use or need, and that you should always clean up your messes right after you make them, rather than waiting until later to do so. Get your whole family involved by giving them all specific cleaning tasks, and organize household items in its designated spaces to prevent clutter.