The subconcious mind is a great thing. It processes tough decisions and doesn't get side-tracked. What better excuse for a lie-in is there?

Decisions, decisions, decisions. Every day we all have to make them. Sometimes they have to be 'snap', other times we can afford to give them more consideration. Occasionally they're hard and sometimes they're easy. The trick is to get them right more times than you get them wrong. But how?

Sleep on it. It really does work. You see, the subconscious mind is brilliant at sorting out all the pluses and minuses associated with making a complex decision. That's because, unlike the conscious mind, it has a greater capacity to process lots of different information and doesn't get sidetracked with pre-conceived ideas or notions.

Instead of jumping to a conclusion, it weighs up all the variables and leads you, more often than not, to the correct solution. That's why so many successful businessmen rely on their instinct to tell them what to do.

Of course, there will always be a place for the rational, conscious mind to make decisions. If there wasn't, we wouldn't have to get out of bed each day. We would just have to work out how to get rid of the bed sores - and that's one problem that can't be solved by sleeping on it!

For instance, the conscious mind is good at applying clear, concrete rules such as figuring out that if we pick up a hot coal it's going to burn a little. But ask it to compute a complex problem with many variables and it gets in a bit of a lather.

We sweat, we panic, we feel dizzy, we go to the pub, have a few drinks and go home to bed. Then, miraculously the next day, everything becomes clear and we have the answer. The only problem now is remembering the question.

And here's the proof. Academics at the University of Amsterdam recently conducted a series of experiments to compare conscious and subconscious thinking. People were given twelve bits of information about four big topics and asked to make a decision. Each topic had a clear 'best decision' that the researchers were looking for.

The first group had to decide immediately, with no time for analysis; the second was asked to reason the problem through before deciding; and the third group was given the information and then immediately distracted with another subject before being asked to make a snap decision.

This third group, who had only ever been given the chance to think about the problems subconsciously, arrived at the 'best decision'.

So the next time you arrive home in the wee hours and stay awake half the night concocting a story to tell your partner, don't be surprised when they jump to the right conclusion the next morning having been furnished with only the barest of details. It's a gut thing.n

Philip Hesketh is a professional speaker on 'The Psychology of Persuasion' and the author of 'Life's A Game So Fix The Odds'.