That's why we can not stop looking at the Instagram cleaning gurus, according to psychologists

Sometimes there is a micro-tendency so bizarre that it is difficult to understand how she managed to create her own period of pop culture.

Take Mrs. Hinch, for example. If you have not heard of her, you will do it soon. The famous cleaner on Instagram, whose real name is Sophie Hinchliffe, has earned more than a million followers on the app, sharing photos of her pristine home in Esbad.

Thousands of people look in her stories to watch her wash her toilet, wipe off the stains of her mirrors and clean the grease on her stove, with brilliant results.

Its followers have dubbed the "Army Hinch" (#HinchArmy has no less than 60,000 impressions on Instagram) and have even invented a new phrase – "hinching" – to clean their own home.

There is no double glamor, but a down to earth, which says she "wants to make chores fun," was successful overnight with her hacks at home. But for many members of her online community, her services go far beyond providing tips for getting stubborn tea on a coffee table.

Watching other people clean up may seem like a kind of digital therapy, and a quick scrolling of Hinch's comments shows that in some cases it can have a profoundly rehabilitating effect on their mental well-being. .

"I'm anxious and I have panic attacks and, believe it or not, the only thing that helps me through an anxiety attack is to feel pain," commented one user.

"Before finding your account, I was so bad that I stayed in bed all day because that was my" safe place ", whereas now I get up every day, I clean up, I'm proud of myself and i'm shopping mine.

"You do not just share tips and tricks on cleaning, you literally help people like me to find each other."

"You are my support mechanism," said another. "I'm 19 years old and I'm anxious about society. Some days, I struggle to get out of bed and face the world. But then, I look at your story and it makes me want to get up and do something.

So, why does watching a woman clean her house in Esbad have a calming effect on the brain? The answer may lie in the so-called autonomous meridian sensory response (ASMR), a type of physical response that causes people to feel a pleasant sensation in the body when they hear certain sounds or watch certain activities.

The people who experience it often describe this sensation as a tingling that starts at the level of the scalp and flows from the neck to the spine. Scientists have described it a bit like a "cerebral bad".

"Our recent fMRI [functional MRI] One study showed that specific areas of the brain are activated during RSA, "says Craig Richard, professor of biopharmaceutical science at Shenandoah University, Virginia. "These areas of the brain are similar to those activated during" affiliated behaviors, "where care behaviors are shared between two people.

Richard says that a clbadic example is that of monkeys grooming themselves in nature, which looks like a human going to the barber shop – a popular genre of ASMR online video.

"No one has measured the neurochemicals that may be involved in the TMNA, but oxytocin is a likely candidate," Richard notes. "Oxytocin is released into the brain during grooming behaviors and induces relaxation."

The researchers found that ASMR sounds and visuals – such as whispering, cutting hair or turning pages – can have a stimulating effect on people with anxiety and depression. A Swansea University study found that 80% of participants exposed to ASMR content said it had a positive effect on their mood, while 69% said it alleviated their moderate to severe symptoms of depression.

So it's no surprise that 'ASMRtists' have exploded on YouTube – and cleanup, with its slow, but slow movements, is quickly becoming a way to take advantage of this trend. Although ASMR is not a form of treatment for mental health, experts say that it resembles mindfulness meditation, a psychological process of focusing on the physical present and drawing attention to experiences lived in the present moment.

"Watching cleaning videos can induce ASMR in some viewers, as long as the sounds are soft, the movements are slow and predictable, and the person is friendly," says Richard.

"The essential aspect of most ASMR videos is a caring person demonstrating or performing a useful task – which includes someone who gives you cleaning tips."

He believes that kindness is crucial because the human brain constantly and unconsciously monitors others for signs of threat.

In addition to cerebral tingling, there is also a positive psychology to confirm the mental benefits that a clean space can have on the mind.

One study, which used linguistic badysis software to examine how 60 women discussed their homes, found that those who used language as "cluttered" or full of "unfinished projects" were more likely to be depressed and tired that women have described their homes as "restful" and "restorative".

The research, published in the scientific journal Personality And Social Psychology Bulletin, also found that women living in disordered homes had higher levels of cortisol, the body's stress hormone. A similar survey conducted by the Scottish Health Survey found that regular, vigorous housework can reduce feelings of anxiety and stress by up to 20%.

Of course, there is some concern about the popularity of cleaning content, especially as it can trigger people's attention to obsessive-compulsive trends. But unlike beauty and fashion bloggers (whose content is often physical-oriented), it's refreshing to see a new type of influencer that everyone can relate to at a basic level.

Even in the digital age, it seems that for many, the house is where the heart is – or at least a sense of total peace and calm in the chaos of everyday life.

– Press Association