In today’s fast paced world, it’s estimated the average adult makes a staggering 35,000 decisions a day.¹ While we’ve always had to make choices, like what to wear or what to eat, modern life has added a new dimension of decision-making. Our phones overwhelm us with a constant stream of ads and notifications, forcing our brains to process and prioritize thousands of choices every hour. This relentless input drains mental energy, leading to decision fatigue—where even the simplest choices feel exhausting and overwhelming.
Just like every step we take uses physical energy, every decision we make uses cognitive energy. Over time, this can wear down our mental capacity, making it harder to focus, control impulses, and think clearly. It does more than leave us feeling tired; it actually changes how we make choices. Studies show that as choice fatigue sets in, we become more prone to impulsive choices and less able to delay gratification (a case against online shopping late at night, when you’re more likely to act impulsively).²
From an evolutionary perspective, our brains are only designed to handle a limited amount of information and choices and the demands of modern life have out-paced our natural capacity to keep up. This leaves us mentally drained and, in some cases, coping with decision avoidance—where we find ourselves leaning towards simpler, less mentally taxing choices to help lighten the mental load (like ordering pizza for the second night in a row or wearing the same outfit day after day).³
How Stress and Uncertainty Impacts our Decision-Making
The COVID-19 pandemic caused a significant strain on our mental health, leaving more people facing challenges with their emotional well-being.⁴ Since then, global uncertainty persists, compounded by an overwhelming influx of information constantly at our fingertips. By virtue, it occupies our mental space—even when we aren’t fully conscious of it.
In fact, based on neuroimaging research, stress and uncertainty can directly affect our decision-making center, the prefrontal cortex, which handles all of our complex thinking, planning, and impulse control. Experiencing stress and uncertainty, particularly when we’re faced with unclear solutions or feel like we lack control, causes the prefrontal cortex function to diminish, making it harder to come to a conclusion.⁵
Avoiding Burnout: Recognizing Decision Exhaustion
A recent study examined the toll that decision fatigue takes when we don’t give our brains time to rest. Researchers found that nurses were more likely to make conservative decisions (i.e., those requiring less mental energy) as their shift progressed without breaks, like recommending evaluation from another health professional.⁶ Interestingly though, the study found that this trend wasn’t related to the overall workload or total time on shift—emphasizing the importance of taking regular breaks in keeping decision quality high.
Why does this insight matter? This experience extends beyond healthcare. With each new decision we make, our mental capacity can decrease, making us more likely to opt for “easier” decisions later. Over time, decision fatigue can lead to burnout, as our brains struggle to keep up. Recognizing these moments—when we’re feeling drained or fried—is crucial. We’re more likely to act impulsive or irrational in this state, potentially putting us at risk to make less thoughtful decisions. This highlights the need to prioritize breaks throughout the workday and limit unnecessary choices.⁷
Strategies to Minimize the Effects of Decision Overload
Limit Your Options: Simplify your everyday decisions by reducing repetitive choices, like planning meals and outfits. Setting a meal plan or building a simple capsule wardrobe can streamline your day (Steve Jobs famously wore a uniform of jeans and a black turtle neck to limit his daily decisions).
Practice “Good Enough” Choices: Some decisions demand thoughtfulness and care, but others hold less importance and should require less mental energy. For choices with lower stakes, go for the first acceptable option and move on. (Something to remember for the next Netflix-movie-night in.)
Hit Mute : Muting, unfollowing, or temporarily ignoring certain information sources can create much-needed mental quiet. Reducing the constant flow of news and updates helps free up cognitive space, allowing you to focus on what truly matters.
Time Your Decisions Effectively: Make essential decisions when your mental energy is at its highest—typically earlier in the morning. Tackling important choices during peak alertness will help form clearer, more thoughtful decisions. (So the next time you’re debating replying to that email at 6:00 p.m., give yourself permission to address it in the morning.)
Prioritize Breaks: Regular breaks throughout the day can act as a mental reset, helping to preserve your cognitive resources and prevent burnout. Even short 5-10 minute mental breaks—like a stroll around the block or some gentle yoga—can help restore focus and reduce decision fatigue.
Eat Balanced Meals: Eating balanced meals with a combination of complex carbs, protein, and healthy fats can provide sustained energy throughout the day, helping to prevent mental fatigue. To save you from deciding what to buy during your next grocery haul, take note of our brain-boosting grocery list.
Sources
¹Pignatiello, G. A., Martin, R. J., & Hickman, R. L., Jr (2020). Decision fatigue: A conceptual analysis. Journal of health psychology, 25(1), 123–135. https://doi.org/10.1177/1359105318763510
²Blain, B., Hollard, G., & Pessiglione, M. (2016). Neural mechanisms underlying the impact of daylong cognitive work on economic decisions. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 113(25), 6967–6972. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1520527113
³Han, Q., Quadflieg, S., & Ludwig, C. J. H. (2023). Decision avoidance and post-decision regret: A systematic review and meta-analysis. PloS one, 18(10), e0292857. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0292857
⁴Hossain, M. M., Tasnim, S., Sultana, A., Faizah, F., Mazumder, H., Zou, L., McKyer, E. L. J., Ahmed, H. U., & Ma, P. (2020). Epidemiology of mental health problems in COVID-19: a review. F1000Research, 9, 636. https://doi.org/10.12688/f1000research.24457.1
⁵Yu R. (2016). Stress potentiates decision biases: A stress induced deliberation-to-intuition (SIDI) model. Neurobiology of stress, 3, 83–95. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ynstr.2015.12.006
⁶Allan, J. L., Johnston, D. W., Powell, D. J. H., Farquharson, B., Jones, M. C., Leckie, G., & Johnston, M. (2019). Clinical decisions and time since rest break: An analysis of decision fatigue in nurses. Health psychology : official journal of the Division of Health Psychology, American Psychological Association, 38(4), 318–324. https://doi.org/10.1037/hea0000725
⁷Pignatiello, G. A., Martin, R. J., & Hickman, R. L., Jr (2020). Decision fatigue: A conceptual analysis. Journal of health psychology, 25(1), 123–135. https://doi.org/10.1177/1359105318763510
