If you do one thing this week . . . sleep before making decisions

Got decisions to make? New research backs up the old wisdom that you should get some sleep before you tackle them.

A study at the University of Massachusetts Amherst recruited more than 100 young adults and asked them to carry out a complex gambling game that involves making decisions.

Twelve hours before they took the task they had a brief introduction to the game, then one group got a night’s sleep, while the timing for the other group meant they had no sleep during the intervening wait.

The findings, published in the Journal of Sleep Research, showed that the sleepers tended to fare better on the subsequent task.

“This provides support for what Mom and Dad have always advised,” says researcher Rebecca Spencer in a statement. “There is something to be gained from taking a night to sleep on it when you’re facing an important decision. We found that the fact that you slept makes your decisions better.”