Stressed and Overwhelmed? A Decision Detox Might be the Solution

We’ve all heard of digital detoxes, dating detoxes and diet detoxes – but what our brain might really need is a decision detox.

Bondi Beauty talks to Sydney-based psychologist Jaimie Bloch about her new decision detox program.

It’s estimated that the average adult makes around 35, 000 semi-conscious decisions every single day, according to a UNC TV Science report. So, it’s no wonder our brains are struggling by the end of a long, stressful day.

According to clinical psychologist Jaimie Bloch, this ‘decision fatigue’ is putting serious pressure on our mental capabilities.

“Our brains are making decisions constantly, but we only have a finite amount of decision making energy in our tank before decision fatigue sets in,” Jaimie said.

“Decision fatigue is when our brain starts taking shortcuts, which sometimes can result in us making impulsive choices, or just going blank and not making a decision at all,” she said.

With studies showing that we are making 70 conscious decisions and 226 unconscious decisions surrounding food alone every day, Jaimie has teamed up with HelloFresh to create a decision detox program to help reduce stress and save that all-important brain power for more important things.

The program involves tips and tricks to improve mental clarity, and highlights the benefits of using HelloFresh’s meal kits to save  you the time and energy spent planning the meals you need to make each day.

“People are really great at detoxing from those physical things, but we often forget how important mental clarity is, so if we’re feeling foggy or run down we might overlook the fact that decision fatigue may be causing that,” Jaimie said.

“The cleanse program really just helps people realign their mindset – it’s an opener into a behaviour change that lessens the load on your mind and helps with your mental clarity,” she said.

“We’re not enjoying the moment enough, and time is one of those things we can’t get back. So, something I really think the program gives people is that time, that wellbeing, to just be in the now and experience life.”

Four of Jaimie’s tips in reducing mental strain and overcoming decision fatigue include:

1. Outsource your decision making:

“I think sometimes outsourcing can be a bit of a dirty word in modern society, but outsourcing is actually a really cost effective, time effective way to reduce menial tasks and stress,” Jaimie said.

“A great way to outsource is just with your choices about food – I created this program with HelloFresh to help support people making better decisions and it’s just such a great way to save time and energy thinking about what you’re going to make for each meal.”

2. Take Breaks

“The best thing for people to do is make sure that they’re having breaks. it’s a really quick way to reset your mind – almost like giving a quick shot of coffee to your brain so you can come back and refocus on the task and feel a bit clearer,” Jaimie said.

3. Fuel your brain with glucose

“Glucose is a really great way to put more energy in your mental bank – there’s been research showing that glucose can actually increase mental power and support decision making capabilities,” Jaimie said.

“So, if you’re starting to fatigue towards the end of the day, having a high glucose snack can give you a quick burst of energy.”

4. Create a Routine

“Repetition is our brain’s best friend, so if we’re able to create a schedule that’s repetitive each day our brain will know what to do the text time we’re in that moment,” Jaimie said.

“Our brain is like a muscle, so we can train it to work more effectively and more successfully, and research has found that people who develop routines are able to conserve more brain power.”

Click here to find out more about Jaimie and HelloFresh’s decision detox program.

Sarah Carroll

Sarah navigates health and fitness alongside a sinful sweet tooth and an unfortunate tendency to splash her savings online shopping, eating out or buying $10 cocktails at happy hour. With a love for yoga, animals and musical theatre, Sarah is rarely found without a peppermint-green tea in hand, tearing up over animal videos on Instagram.

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