How sleep affects short term memory

- Thu, 13 Sep 2007

Know how lousy your concentration is after a really late night? Well, scientists think they may at last understand why. It seems that without enough sleep the brain fails to produce sufficient memory cells. So if you're the kind of person who is burning the candle at both ends, you may be doing your body more harm than you realised.

A study on rats at Princeton University in the US, reported by the BBC, found that when deprived of sleep for 72 hours, the rats had significantly fewer cells in the hippocampus, the part of the brain responsibie for forming memories. Without sleep, the rats also had  significantly increased levels of the stress hormone corticosterone. Suspecting that the stress hormone was what hindering the production of memory cells, the scientists then controlled the level of stress hormones keeping it at normal levels and found that then when they deprived the rats of sleep the number of brain cell's stayed normal.

Of course the link between lab rats and humans is a leap that requires further scientific study. And 72 hours without sleep is not quite the same as a late night. But these findings pave the way for a greater awareness that our lifestyle can have an enormous impact on our brain's ability to function. And we can remedy our brain's memory by making changes to our lifestyle.

Headstrong's team of neurospychologists are experts in ways to enhance our memory. Their unique software brain games have been designed to exercise the brain pathways responsible for memory and combat the deterioration that often comes with age. Together, lifestyle choices like sufficient sleep and regular brain games can keep your mind in peak condition at any age.