In our daily life we are constantly faced with decision making. The latest scientific studies reveal some tricks to ensure that we choose the best option.
After consulting it with the pillow.Neuroscientists have identified several reasons why you should sleep before making an important decision. On the one hand, as Matthew Walker of the University of California at Berkeley has shown, while we dream – in REM sleep – our brain softens painful or unpleasant emotions stored in memory. “After sleeping the experiences of the previous day have reduced their emotional load, we feel able to face them,” explains Walker. To this is added that researchers from Duke University showed that a sleepless night increases brain activity in regions that evaluate hypothetical positive results, in such a way that lack of sleep enhances risky decisions.
With a full bladder.According to a study carried out by Dutch researchers at the University of Twente, while we resist the urgent need to go to the bathroom, our brain’s capacity for self-control increases, which helps us to better choose between various options. Specifically, the experiments revealed that people with a full bladder tend to make decisions that carry greater long-term rewards.
Better with sugar.Blood glucose levels affect the decision-making process. Through an experiment, Robert D. Dvorak and his colleagues at the University of South Dakota (USA) found thatafter ingesting a carbonated drink with sugar we make decisions more oriented towards future well-beingWhereas after consuming sugar-free drinks – sweetened with aspartame – we tend to be more impulsive and seek immediate reward.
Without thinking too much about it.When it comes to making an important decision, we make the best choice if, instead of conscientiously weighing all the options, we let our unconscious thinking make the choice. It is the conclusion that emerges from a series of experiments carried out by researchers at Duke University and published in the journalPsychological Science. The authors suggest that “having too much time to think when the problem is complex can lead us to value less important information and to make mistakes.” On the contrary, simple decisions are best resolved consciously.
Video games for training.Action video games train us to make better choices in real life, as Daphne Bavelier and her colleagues at the University of Rochester have shown. Specifically, “gamers” are more sensitive to what is going on around them, perceive important details better and make effective decisions faster. As if that weren’t enough, this type of video game improves the ability to drive, multitask or track a friend in a crowd, according to the researchersCurrent Biology.
