Not only age and neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s negatively affect memory. Certain physiological situations and some habits also make it more difficult for us to store and retrieve memories.
Chronic stressAs the magazine released last yearNeuron, stress hormones negatively affect the function of the prefrontal cortex, a region of the brain that is concerned, among other things, with storing working memory (which stores information for a short period of time) and making decisions. And all because the signals in this area are transmitted through glutamate, whose levels drop when we are repeatedly stressed.
Pregnancy.Pregnant women have a special predisposition to see their spatial memory diminished, which helps us to orient ourselves and remember where we left things, according to a study presented at the Annual Conference of the British Society for Endocrinology. This memory loss is more pronounced in the last two trimesters of pregnancy, and lasts up to three months after the birth of the child. Luckily, it is reversible.
To smoke.A recent study from the University of Northumbria revealed that smokers have poorer memory than non-smokers. Specifically, in memory tests in which they were asked to remember a series of tasks associated with different places, non-smokers remembered 81%, while tobacco addicts only remembered 59%. Quitting smoking reverses these negative effects of cigarettes.
Excess fatIf our diet includes too much saturated fat and cholesterol, the brain becomes inflamed, nerve function is altered and working memory or immediate memory is reduced, as is clear from a study published in the journalJournal of Alzheimer’s Disease.
Hypertension.Starting at age 45, high blood pressure or hypertension is associated with memory loss, a University of Alabama study published inNeurology. The authors attribute this to high blood pressure weakening the small arteries in the brain, which can trigger neuronal damage.
