Intelligent People Make Mess Swear and go to Bed Late

I recently got sucked into an article. An article that shared with me that Science suggests intelligent people make more mess, they swear more and they go to bed late. I was ticking boxes here. 

Please note this is not my actual table and is for the articles purpose only :)

Mess, mess and a bit more mess.

You see I'm not a fan of mess as a  rule. But mess and young children tend to go hand in hand. You attempt a job and they lovingly follow undoing your efforts. They distract you with their cuteness or mischievous nature which often means you end up leaving jobs you've set out to do. Sometimes you are too worn out to get it all done. First thing of a morning in particular when I return back to my house after the school run, I look around and think - oh my word! It looks like a bomb has gone off. 

Since becoming a Mother of 3 I am regretfully not as on top of it all as I once was. But I guess that is a given. Children take up a lot of time and the more you have the more of your time is taken up tending to their needs. The house is always clean, but sometimes toys take over the floor space, cups fill the sink and lets not even talk about the ironing pile! Eghhh - I am forever trying to win a losing battle there!

Sometimes the whole 'put away as you go' just simply doesn't happen because life gets in the way. You get caught up doing other things - but now I have scientific backup that this way of 'winging it' and embracing the mess - actually could imply that I am intelligent. HA. Who would have thought!?

Talk about turning a negative, into a positive!!

Perhaps you're a working parent and have a super messy desk, your paperwork is disorderly and/or your car is messy - this applies to you too!

The study concluded that if you don't spend time keeping things organised around you, your mind is occupied with more important stuff. Important stuff that sees you being more creative and have fresh insights. The study by the University of Minnesota said that “Disorderly environments seem to inspire breaking free of tradition, which can produce fresh insights. Orderly environments, in contrast, encourage convention and playing it safe. Whether you have control over the tidiness of the environment or not, you are exposed to it and our research shows it can affect you.”

So moving forward - if you too are drowning in washing and your sink is full of dishes from time to time. The toys litter the floor. Your car is full of empty wrappers, toys and the odd Mcdonalds fries is lingering in the car seats - embrace it - look at the mess and remind yourself, you are intelligent, Science says so!

Night Owls

Now this is a funny old subject. I'm always tired but always stay up late. Whether you work or stay at home, life is fast paced. I feel some days - the hours roll into one.

Parenthood means you rarely if ever get chance to just sit down and be. Come night time when everyone is asleep,  after you've finally got round to putting everything away, attempting as many things as possible on the never ending to do list you may just be craving to have some time to yourself, which sees you staying up later.

My after hours usually involve me sipping tea in my dressing gown reading or catching up on the bank of reality tele I have recorded. It's not really living life of the edge I'm aware of that but its down time. I can't go to bed until I feel like I've had enough down time and I start to feel human again. 

I recently set the bedtime reminders on my phone. A feature offered by iphone. It calculates from the time you need to wake up - exactly when you should go to bed to get the recommended 7-8 hours of sleep each night. Although the alerts have been going off all week I am yet to get in bed at the time it suggests and subsequently I feel it the next day. 

When I speak with my friends, other parents on the school run, at the play centres, in my group on Facebook or over on Instagram - they too tell me how although they are really tired they stay up late in an attempt to 'recover' from the day they've had. Night Owls. Absolute night owls.

According to studies people who have a higher IQs are usually those who stay up later. To be more precise, people with an IQ of less than 75 go to bed around 11:41 pm, while people with IQ over 123 go to bed around 12:30 am.

So tonight, when you're up 'after hours', when everyone in your house is fast asleep - just think about all the other parents out there who are also up in recovery mode. Getting that little bit of time to help make you feel sane again the next day and instead of thinking 'I'm so silly for doing this again', you remind yourself that actually - you are intelligent, Science says so!

Swearing

I'm not someone who openly swears and I don't like swearing around children. But I utter more curse words under my breath these days than ever before. I'm someone who thinks ahead. I plan and I always have hope and faith that things will go in a positive way at least. This rarely happens with two very busy, strong willed, boisterous two year olds around and subsequently I have became a silent curser. It somehow gives me relief to mutter a quiet swear word here and there. 'Oh dear' just doesn't do the same, although this is all the children hear me say in such situations.

I came from a loving family home that discouraged swearing. My parents still don't like swearing to this day. My Mom would always say "there is just no need to swear". It has pretty much always been suggested too that people who swear have a limited vocabulary. But this research actually shows this is not true. Yipee again.

It actually showed that people who could reel off the most swear words within a minute also tend to score higher on an IQ test. The research concluded that a rich vocab of swear words is an indication of rhetorical strength rather than the attempt to hide verbal deficits.

If you're anything like me at this point you will be totally made up that you're ticking boxes. Horray for mess, yipee to the early hours and high five on the quietly muttered curses. 
We're in this together and Science is telling us that we are pretty damn amazing, just as we flippin' are!