Before You Make an Important Decision, Science Says It May be Best to Sleep On It

Anna Hunt, Staff Writer
Waking Times

When it is difficult to make an important decision, especially about something that may impact your life, you may want to sleep on it. It’s logical to assume that it is easier for a rested brain to evaluate choices and make a decision. But come to find out, your brain actually makes some of its own decisions while you sleep. As well, sleep helps the brain process your emotions about a situation, so you are less irrational in your decision making.

Parts of the Brain that Impede Decision Making

During our awake hours, we are consistently making choices. There are times when we’re on automatic pilot, like making the morning coffee or driving to work. But most of the day we have to make decisions about what we want to wear and eat, what we want to do that day, how to tackle work and life situations, etc.

Your personality and society are big influences when it comes to decisions. So are all of the beliefs that you’ve formed based on your interactions with others. Essentially, all that makes you who you are will impact what choices your make in life – big or small.

Unfortunately, all of this personality, emotion, conditioning, etc, can make decision making difficult. When it’s time to make a choice, all of the voices in your head have an opinion. All your doubts, beliefs and aspirations argue their case in the silent battle within the mind.

The Unconscious Mind at Work

What happens when you sleep is that all of this personality and programming that makes you, you, are shut off. When the conscious mind sleeps, the unconscious mind starts to pilfer through everything that happened during your day.

Scientists have been able to show that the brain continues to respond and process information, even when a person is asleep. Researchers Sid Kouider and Thomas Andrillon at the Ecole Normale Supérieure de Paris in France asked test subjects to press either a left or right button based on the type of word they heard. They used an EEG scan to observe the activity in the brain immediately before the subjects pressed the correct button to give their response.

The researchers continued to prompt the subjects with new words, even after the subject fell asleep. (The participants were laying down in a dark room.) The EEG showed that the brain continued to process the meaning of the new words and to prepare for either left or right button responses.

This study shows clearly that the unconscious mind is still processing information from the outside world, even while you sleep. It may be beneficial to reflect about a decision calmly before going to sleep, so see if the brain can work it out for you. This study was published in Current Biology.

A Nightly Makeover

It’s well known that the brain gets a makeover every time you sleep. During sleep, support cells in the brain clear away residue left over from the day. The brain’s support cells, called glial cells clear out worn out neurons and old, unnecessary synapses, or connections, between neurons.

Not only is the brain busy cleaning, it integrates new information that we learned during the day. As it gets rid of the old, it also builds new synapses. Furthermore, it helps us integrate emotional experiences into context and produce appropriate responses. Research by Matthew Walker, Director of University of California Berkeley’s Sleep and Neuroimaging Laboratory, showed that “sleep deprivation does the opposite by excessively boosting the part of the brain most closely connected to depression, anxiety and other psychiatric disorders.” (source)

Consequently, a good night’s sleep may help your brain process your emotions about a situation. Instead of being responsive or irrational when making a choice, your brain will be ready to make choices based on what is appropriate for you.

Alexander Graham Bell was a firm believer is making the unconscious mind work for you:

I am a believer in unconscious cerebration. The brain is working all the time, though we do not know it. At night, it follows up what we think in the daytime. When I have worked a long time on one thing, I make it a point to bring all the facts regarding it together before I retire; and I have often been surprised at the results. (source)

Read more articles by Anna Hunt.

About the Author

Anna Hunt is writer, yoga instructor, mother of three, and lover of healthy food. She’s the founder of Awareness Junkie, an online community paving the way for better health and personal transformation. She’s also the co-editor at Waking Times, where she writes about optimal health and wellness. Anna spent 6 years in Costa Rica as a teacher of Hatha and therapeutic yoga. She now teaches at Asheville Yoga Center and is pursuing her Yoga Therapy certification. During her free time, you’ll find her on the mat or in the kitchen, creating new kid-friendly superfood recipes.

Sources:

http://theconversation.com/brains-can-make-decisions-while-we-sleep-here-they-are-in-action-31716

https://www.awarenessjunkie.com/neuroscience-shows-brain-literally-eats-due-lack-sleep/

https://www.berkeley.edu/news/media/releases/2007/10/22_sleeploss.shtml

https://www.nbcnews.com/better/health/what-happens-your-body-brain-while-you-sleep-ncna805276

This article (Before You Make an Important Decision, Science Says It May be Best to Sleep On It) was originally created and published by Waking Times and is published here under a Creative Commons license with attribution to Anna Hunt and WakingTimes.com. It may be re-posted freely with proper attribution, author bio, and this copyright statement.

Disclaimer: This article is not intended to provide medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Views expressed here do not necessarily reflect those of Waking Times or its staff.

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