Why Don't You Sleep On It?

thefirelane wrote to mention a New Scientist study that indicates your subconscious mind is a better decision maker than you are. From the article: "The research suggests the conscious mind should be trusted only with simple decisions, such as selecting a brand of oven glove. Sleeping on a big decision, such as buying a car or house, is more likely to produce a result people remain happy with than consciously weighing up the pros and cons of the problem, the researchers say. Thinking hard about a complex decision that rests on multiple factors appears to bamboozle the conscious mind so that people only consider a subset of information, which they weight inappropriately, resulting in an unsatisfactory choice. In contrast, the unconscious mind appears able to ponder over all the information and produce a decision that most people remain satisfied with."

Comments

Re:Brighter in the morning?

[CatsupBoy]

Funny thing is, I dont believe sleep was even introduced into the study. They had people work on puzzles while mulling over a decision.

So, while your point may be valid, sleeping would actually introduce more variables into the study then did the actuall method used in the study.

Re:Hmmmm

[CastrTroy]

I've seen this happen on more than one occasion. Mostly I notice it with video games. I'll try for 2 hours to complete a task and not even complete it. Then, the next day I'll get it first try. My opinion is that your brain works through a lot of stuff when you're sleeping. I think this is why babies need a lot of sleep. Everything is new to them, and their brain needs a lot of time to process all that new information. I also find it easier to learn something new if I do it over a longer period, than trying to cram everything in at once. Instead of working 3 hours, you work on something in 1 hour sessions for 3 days. You retain the information a lot better.