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: How Stress Works With and Against Your Memory
Stress Management
Effects on Health
How Stress Works With and Against Your Memory
By
Elizabeth Scott, MS
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Elizabeth Scott, MS, is a wellness coach specializing in stress management and quality of life, and the author of "8 Keys to Stress Management." Learn about our editorial process
Elizabeth Scott, MS
Medically reviewed by
Medically reviewed by Steven Gans, MD on February 06, 2018
Steven Gans, MD is board-certified in psychiatry and is an active supervisor, teacher, and mentor at Massachusetts General Hospital. Learn about our Review Board
Steven Gans, MD
Updated on February 19, 2021
PeopleImages/iStock
A little stress can be a great motivator, as any student can tell you. A lot of stress, however, can often create more of an obstacle than a benefit. This is true when it comes to many things, including health-promoting behaviors, relationships, and even our memories. Stress can inhibit the way we form and retrieve memories and can affect how our memory works. Fortunately, there is good news here to balance out the bad. Here is what research tells us about the effects of stress on memory. Stress and Memory
Stress can affect how memories are formed. When stressed, people have a more difficult time creating short-term memories and turning those short-term memories into long-term memories, meaning that it is more difficult to learn when stressed.