Just Take A Nap...

During midterms or finals, have you ever felt that you do not remember what you studied only a few hours ago? Do you sometimes have to review the same information repeatedly for it to stick? I know I have felt this way a couple of times during a semester and have taken ginkgo biloba to help improve my memory. Psychologist Elizabeth Gould from Princeton University has found what causes many college student memory problems. In her study on sleep-deprived rats, she noticed that growth of cells in the hippocampus decreased. This decrease in the genesis of cells impedes the formation of new memories

So what exactly caused the cell production to decrease? Gould found that there was an indirect relationship between the level of the stress hormone corticosterone in the hippocampus and the production of neurons. This means that as the amount of stress hormone in the rats increases, the rate of brain cell production in the hippocampus decreases. To confirm this relationship, Gould removed the sleep deprived rats adrenal glands in order to halt the production and accumulation of the stress hormone. These rats were able to produce new neurons normally which meant that the relationship was correct.

The implications of Gould’s study are that sleep deprivation and stress are the reasons why we have difficulty remembering or learning things. For this reason, we should not force ourselves to study for exams when we are exhausted. No amount of ginkgo biloba or B complex can substitute for a good night sleep. If you have to study under these stressful conditions then just take a short nap to restore your energy.

The above information comes form the article "Can't remember what you just read? Take a nap." By Andy Coghlan. The article can be found here: http://www.newscientist.com/channel/being-human/brain/mg19225804.400-cant-remember-what-you-just-read-take-a-nap.html