It could be the mundane decisions of daily life, like choosing what to order for dinner or from an endless stream of shows on Netflix. Or it could be the more meaningful (potentially life-altering) kind, like swiping right in search of a life partner or finding the best place to invest our savings.

Regardless of the decision, the options in all domains of our lives can seem infinite, particularly when there's an app for all of that. Where once our decisions would've been made with input from our social circles alone, today our influences are global. From parenting tips and medical advice to product reviews, we're sure to find a strong opinion (and an equally compelling rebuttal) bombarding us within seconds of opening an app on our phones.

No doubt there are upsides to having more options and easy access to information, but there's a reason why adult life feels so much harder today: our brains are maxed out.

All the way back in 2007, researchers found that we were sharing a staggering amount of digital information — it was the equivalent of each of us sending out six newspapers a day. And the number has risen steadily since.

Decision fatigue is what it sounds like: the more decisions we have to make, the more cognitive resources we use and the more mentally and emotionally exhausted we are by the end of the day.

"[It] can either show up as feeling depleted, having very little energy, feeling numb, in a way, or frozen," said Zainib Abdullah, a psychotherapist and the founder of Wellnest, a Toronto clinic that focuses on racialized communities. "Or it could show up as a lot of stress activation in the system — a lot of anxiety and impulsive behaviour."

Living with stress can in turn make it that much more difficult to make clear decisions or cause us to make impulsive decisions, she said. As well, stress can lead to indecision or procrastination (no, you're not just lazy).

Certain groups can be more prone to decision fatigue, Abdullah said, including people with anxiety and those who have experienced trauma, are neurodivergent or are perfectionists — and sometimes more than one of these factors apply. She pointed out that some immigrants have a history of trauma, struggle to succeed because of systemic barriers, and encourage perfectionism in their children in an effort to protect them.

"When folks are in survival states and have chronic stress, as a way of protecting their children, it's natural to instill certain standards of perfectionism or high standards because they want them to succeed," Abdullah said. A parent's low tolerance for mistakes or failure and exceedingly high standards can inadvertently cause stress, she added.

You could say the drive for perfectionism is baked into our culture at this point. For example, almost 60 per cent of "data-driven" millennials comparison shop in search of the best deal or product. And a full 94 per cent of gen-Zers want to use apps to improve their health by tracking fitness milestones, nutrition, sleep and biometrics (with millennials and gen-Xers not far behind). But the pursuit of perfection can lead to mental health issues, including anxiety and depression.

The widespread use of technology can also impact the integrity of our decisions, according to Vinod Goel, professor of cognitive neuroscience at York University. (Full disclosure: he was the supervisor for my master's thesis.) He said social media has eliminated the "gatekeepers" — barriers to spreading any idea, verified or otherwise.

Everyone seems to be an expert these days, with the potential to reach and influence the masses. "Prior to the internet, if you wanted to disseminate an idea, you could write a letter to the editor of the newspaper, and they would determine whether it gets published or not," Goel said.

All is not doomed, though, for those who want to navigate this era of information overload, make sound choices and avoid decision fatigue.

It's important to understand how our physiological state affects us when we make decisions, according to both experts.

"[Studies] show differences in decision-making depending on whether the individual is in a good or negative mood," Goel said. He cited the famous paper that found that parole judges were more likely to make favourable rulings at the beginning of the workday or after a food break.

It's an example of how our decisions are not driven solely by reason or information, but also by various external and internal factors. "Self-awareness is incredibly important," Abdullah said.

She stressed that getting enough sleep, nutritious food, exercise and social connection is also vital. It's about "having the basics covered," as she put it, which can help us feel more focused and regulated and know when we're prone to shutting down or making impulsive decisions.

Abdullah also emphasized the importance of understanding our values. "A lot of decision fatigue is a result of very unrealistic high standards and not actually knowing what our values are," she said. "When we know … how we want to live our lives, we can then make decisions more easily because we do have that compass that we can come back to." When you know your priorities, you can use that as a guide rather than pursuing perfection.

In fact, psychologists have adopted the term "sastisficing" from economists (a combination of "satisfied" and "sufficing") to refer to making decisions that are good enough rather than trying to determine what's optimal. It's understandably linked to greater levels of happiness.

On the other hand, when researchers surveyed maximizers, who tend to seek out the best decision possible, the participants reported being less satisfied with their purchases, experiencing more regret, and feeling worse when they compared themselves to people they saw as superior to them. Interestingly, being a maximizer has also been linked to perfectionism and depression.

Finally, simply reducing the amount of decisions we make in a day can help. Operating on autopilot is an efficient cognitive mechanism.

Exercise schedules, standing weekend walks with friends, set weekly menus (hello, Taco Tuesdays) and the like can save you from spending unnecessary time and energy planning. "Routines can help you be in a flow state," Abdullah said.

Living in a digital world and sifting through all the information and choices available to us certainly has its challenges: tuning out the noise, understanding when "more" becomes "too much" and learning what works best for each of us. But ultimately, the reward — the relief — makes the effort worthwhile.