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: 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. As your stress eases or as you employ coping techniques, you should find that your memory improves. On the other hand, there is some evidence to suggest that prolonged exposure to unmitigated stress may damage the hippocampus, making it less able to signal the body to turn off the stress hormones, leading to a vicious cycle of higher and higher stress-hormone levels and further decay of memory and cognition. In time, the hippocampus may actually shrink. There's another reason why you may not remember so well when you are under a lot of stress, and it has to do with paying attention. In order to record information well enough to form a memory, you have to be able to focus on the subject you want to remember.