According to a new study published in the journal Social Psychological and Personality Science, taking a shower or bath
The researchers first recruited 1,150 adult participants andasked them to watch a short video clip of a frightened woman getting ready to go bungee jumping. This is the name of an extreme form of entertainment when people are tied to a long rubber rope, on which they jump down. The video has previously been shown to cause anxiety, tension, and anxiety in viewers. Participants were then randomly shown one of three instructional videos: how to wash their hands; how to draw a circle; how to peel an egg. Those who watched the handwashing videos tended to report lower levels of anxiety afterwards compared to those who watched the other two videos.
After the scientists conducted another experiment.Instead of watching videos, the participants had to imagine mental images. After watching the disturbing video, one group of volunteers was told to "imagine thoroughly washing your hands, face, neck and head with water", another was told to "imagine touching your hands, face, neck and hair" and a third was not told to imagine anything. .
According to the hypothesis, the scientists saw thatanxiety levels tended to be lower for those who imagined washing. In their final experiment, the researchers also found physiological evidence supporting their idea. In the experiment, 74 participants completed two rounds of an anxiety-inducing task while recording their cardiovascular activity. Some of the volunteers were allowed to use a wet wipe when performing tasks. It turned out that cleansing yourself even with a napkin leads to a more favorable profile of cardiovascular reactivity.
Researchers speculate that it may beassociated with cultural concepts of purification, including "spiritual". The scientists also noted that the study, like any other, has some limitations. “Although we have demonstrated this phenomenon in samples with a wide age range, the participants in the experiments are taken only from Western countries. It is not yet known whether this phenomenon will spread to other cultures, ”the authors added.