The Science Behind Decision Fatigue

You know that feeling when you’ve been working all day at you find yourself completely depleted even though you felt like you didn’t do much physical movement? There’s a reason for that! According to new research, when we are faced with difficult tasks, we build up a metabolic byproduct in our brains called glutamate. Glutamate affects the part of our brains involved with decision-making and planning (our prefrontal cortex). Glutamate levels require sleep to return to normal levels.

Ok, so that’s a lot of science - let’s break it down. The more difficult decisions we are making throughout the day, the more difficult it is to continue to make decisions and plans. Why does this matter? Well, it means that there is a way that you can structure your day so that all of your big decisions and planning can happen during the day. It also means that in the evening when you are finding yourself struggling with decisions, you have a better idea of why. And another reason why prioritizing sleep is important. Another reason this may be relevant, if you’re anticipating a pretty decision-heavy day, you can prepare for the day by making sure that you have your evening planned out ahead of time, so you have less decisions to make.

If you’re interested in reading more about this study, you can check out this article from Inc.

As always, take what is helpful and leave the rest. I hope you have the week you need.