Decision Fatigue: Does it Help to Wear the Same Clothes Every Day?

Ever since the late Steve Jobs popularized the idea, some folks have been enamored by the idea that by wearing the same clothes everyday, you are somehow setting yourself up for greater success. The psychological reasoning behind this is the idea that the fewer decisions you have to make every day on rudimentary tasks (like choosing your clothing, what you’re going to eat, etc.), the more brain power you have available for more important decisions. But is that true? Does cutting out simple decisions about clothing really likely to significantly impact your overall brain reserve for the day? Decision fatigue — more accurately called cognitive fatigue — is a well-known psychological phenomenon. It was first discovered in people who had cognitive deficits due to a neurological condition, trauma, developmental disorder, or brain injury. When faced with everyday decisions, psychologists found that people with such problems or trauma would often tire more easily and quickly than ordinary people. Healthy, normal people, however, generally don’t suffer from these same cognitive deficits. A healthy mind has the ability to make thousands of decisions a day with very little energy. For instance, the average person person makes about 180 decisions per minute while driving. If you’re cognitively healthy, cutting back a single daily decision (or even 10) isn’t likely to have much of an impact in your overall energy levels — and ability to make goo...
Source: World of Psychology - Category: Psychiatry & Psychology Authors: Tags: Brain and Behavior General Habits Happiness Mindfulness Psychology Research Students Success & Achievement cognitive fatigue Cognitive reserve daily stress decision fatigue Decision Making Healthy Habits John Tierney (journal Source Type: blogs