“A person’s decision-making style can have consequences throughout her life,” says Carl Martin Allwood, professor of psychology at the University of Gothenburgh in Sweden. Allwood and his team examined the relationship between different decision-making styles and stress. The findings? Certain types of decision-makers were more stressed—and slept less—than others. More from Prevention: Pump Up Your Willpower To find out what your decision-making style is, look at the question below and pick the answer that sounds most like you: You’re at a new restaurant with a menu as long as War and Peace. You… (A) Spot an ingredient you love—grilled chicken—and go with it without reading the rest of the description. (B) Survey your companions about what you should get. (C) Put off deciding until everyone else has ordered and then still take a minute, or six. (D) Take the point-and-decide approach—wherever your finger lands on the page, that’s what’s for dinner! (E) Take your time to read through all the choices, narrow down a couple of options, and then weigh the pros and cons of each. If you picked… A: You’re Intuitive. You tend to be a thoughtful decision-maker, but you rely more heavily on premonitions and feelings than cold, hard facts. B: You’re Dependent. You’re likely to ask others what to do and value their opinions. C: You’re Avoidant. You try to avoid making decisions. D: You’re Spontaneous. You want to reach a decision quickly, rather than mulling over pros and cons. E: You’re Rational. You prefer to put time and research into your choices, collecting all the information possible and evaluating each alternative. For the Swedish study, researchers found that “Rational” decision-makers reported lower stress and better sleep, while the “Avoidant” and “Dependent” decision-makers were more anxious and tired. More from Prevention: Health Lessons From Your To-Do List The good news is that while you can’t stop having to make decisions, you can make the process a little easier on yourself and your health. Here’s how. Make reflection a habit. Allow yourself time to think of more than one solution to a problem and the best way—or ways—to approach it. “Try to reflect on your arguments for and against your favored decision, and also the arguments for and against your second-favorite,” Allwood says. Ask for help when you need it. If you have a tough choice to make (and no, your dinner order doesn’t count) research shows that it usually pays to poll the people around you for advice. Go ahead and bounce ideas off your officemates if you’ve hit a mental block. Don’t overload yourself. “Don’t agree to do too many things at the same time,” Allwood says. Learn to say no once in a while so you won’t be faced with having to make a million decisions at once and rush for answers. Set yourself up for good sleep. Poor decision-making skills may lead to tossing and turning—but if you’re exhausted all the time, it’s going to be tough to change. More from Prevention: 5 Signs You’re Sleep Deprived
