Title: Improving Memory: Lifestyle Changes | HowStuffWorks
Headings: Improving Memory: Lifestyle Changes
Improving Memory: Lifestyle Changes
To learn more about the various aspects of memory, see:
Improving Memory: Lifestyle Changes, Stress and Memory
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Improving Memory: Lifestyle Changes, Exercise and Memory
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Improving Memory: Lifestyle Changes, Sleep and Memory
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Improving Memory: Lifestyle Changes, Diet and Memory
B Vitamins
Vitamins C & E
Vitamins C & E
Magnesium
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Improving Memory: Lifestyle Changes, Alcohol and Smoking and Memory
Alcohol
Smoking
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Inhalants
Improving Memory: Lifestyle Changes, Supplements and Memory
Ginkgo Biloba
Coenzyme Q10
Huperzine A
Phosphatidylserine (PS)
Pregnenolone
Vinpocetine
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Improving Memory: Lifestyle Changes, Head Injuries and Memory
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Improving Memory: Lifestyle Changes, Medications and Memory
Anticholinergic Drugs (scopolamine, atropine, glycopyrrolate)
Anti-epilepsy Drugs (phenytoin/Dilantin)
Opiates (heroin, morphine, codeine)
Psychoactive Drugs
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Content: Oddly enough, short-term, mild-to-moderate stress can actually improve cognitive performance and enhance memory. The body's immediate reaction to a sudden stressor includes the release of hormones and other chemicals, including epinephrine (also known as adrenaline) and norepinephrine, that trigger the body's so-called fight or flight response and, in the short term, make you more alert and focused. To maintain this reaction beyond a few seconds, the body also releases glucocorticoid hormones (such as cortisol). A slightly elevated level of glucocorticoids appears to assist in the laying down of new memories. Major or prolonged stress that goes untempered, on the other hand, can have a negative impact on memory and concentration. The continued release of and exposure to stress chemicals, with no down time, no chance for the body to return to a "stand down" mode, can take its toll on various systems and organs -- including the brain. Scientists haven't teased out all of the effects (indeed, memory, like so many other brain processes, is one of the least understood functions of the human body), but research suggests that major or ongoing stress and the high levels of glucocorticoids that accompany it have detrimental effects on an area of the brain called the hippocampus. Research suggests that the hippocampus plays an essential (although not yet fully understood) role in the creation of "explicit" memories-that is, memories of facts and events (as opposed to "implicit" memories, which include procedural memories, such as how to drive a car or ride a bike, that we are able to execute without consciously "remembering"). The negative effects of stress on the hippocampus appear to make it more difficult to create long-term memories and harder to access those that have already been formed. Fortunately, high stress-hormone levels over the short term don't appear to do permanent damage to the brain.