The water of the great, holy river Ganges is said to be like a broth. Millions of cubic meters of untreated sewage flow into the stream every day, carrying fecal bacteria, the concentration of which in some places is 2,000 times higher than the permitted level in India. In addition to germs, chromium, lead, arsenic, bromine and other toxic substances pollute the water. Washing your hands in the Ganges, for example, increases the risk of an infectious disease instead of protecting against it, that much is certain. Nevertheless, millions of Hindus regularly gather to wash themselves in the Ganges at the Kumbh Mela, the world’s largest religious festival. A bath in the water of the river does not allow for physical cleansing, but this is also about something else.
“Washing yourself in a polluted river can have a spiritually and morally cleansing effect through a socially constructed interpretation of the process,” write social psychologists led by Spike Lee in the specialist journal Psychological Bulletin. In their meta-analysis, which is based on data from 42,793 test subjects, the researchers focus on the psychological effects of washing. After all, the need for cleaning can also come from other sources than just the fact of being dirty, sticky and otherwise physically dirty. And the result can be more than just a fresh-smelling body.
Individual findings suggest, for example, that acutely awakened memories of immoral acts provoke the desire to purify oneself in some form. An unwanted kiss apparently has the same effect. Thoughts about changing your life and taking it in new directions probably have a similar effect. But does it have the same effect when people actually wash their hands, shower, brush their teeth, shave or otherwise clean themselves?
Lying in bed with a fresh shower is one of the greatest pleasures
Here too, psychologists cite numerous individual effects. Apparently, cleaning up after unethical behavior could alleviate feelings of guilt. Another finding suggests that in this way, after a setback, the resulting pessimistic view of the future can be lightened somewhat. Stress can also probably be washed away from the mind, at least a little: the effects measured in studies are of small to medium strength, so they are nuances, small factors also exert an influence – but not something like metaphorical light switches that turn a clear state on or off.
Overall, from a psychological perspective, the act of cleaning could be understood as “mental distancing,” argue Lee’s psychologists. Anyone who washes themselves mentally separates themselves from negative events. And of course, but only in passing, cleaning can simply feel great. Lying in bed with a fresh shower and sinking under the covers is one of the greatest pleasures in the world. The immediate psychological effect of this activity: satisfaction, relaxation, blissful sleep.