Title: How Stress Works With and Against Your Memory
Headings: How Stress Works With and Against Your Memory
How Stress Works With and Against Your Memory
Stress and Memory
Improve Your Memory Under Stress

Content: The good news is that there was a short delay between encoding and the formation of memory. Also, if the material being learned was directly related to the stressor, memory actually improved. Even better, post-encoding stress actually improved memory formation and retrieval as well, meaning stress that occurred after the memory was formed actually led to better memory-making. 2 ﻿
Stress increased cortisol, but the amount of cortisol was not directly related to the effects of stress on memory. This means that if you create more cortisol during your stress response, this won't necessarily mean that your memory will be more impaired than someone who is less hormonally-responsive. Interestingly, women who were on oral contraceptives experienced less of a negative effect. 2 ﻿
Stress can also lead to exhaustion, and this can lead to cognitive impairment that includes issues with attention and working memory. Unfortunately, memory impairment can still be detected three years later, even after the exhaustion has been addressed. 3 ﻿ This underscores the importance of managing stress before it gets to this point.​
Improve Your Memory Under Stress
There are several things you can do to improve your memory when stressed. Fortunately, these techniques also help manage stress.