Memory, Concentration, and Learning
Stress affects the brain, particularly memory, but the effects differ significantly depending on whether the stress is acute or chronic.
Effect of Acute Stress on Memory and Concentration. Studies indicate that the immediate effect of acute stress impairs short-term memory, particularly verbal memory. On the plus side, high levels of stress hormone during acute stress have been associated with enhanced memory storage and greater concentration on immediate events.
Effect of Chronic Stress on Memory. If stress becomes chronic, sufferers often experience loss of concentration at work and at home, and they may become inefficient and accident-prone. In children, the physiologic responses to chronic stress can clearly inhibit learning. Chronic stress in older people may play an even more important role in memory loss than the aging process. In one study, for example, older adults with low stress hormone levels tested as well as younger adults in cognitive tests: those with higher stress levels tested between 20% and 50% lower.
Studies have associated prolonged exposure to cortisol (the major stress hormone) to shrinkage in the hippocampus, the center of memory. For example, two studies reported that groups who suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder (Vietnam veterans and women who suffered from sexual abuse) displayed up to 8% shrinkage in the hippocampus. It is not yet known if this shrinkage is reversible.
Stress affects the brain, particularly memory, but the effects differ significantly depending on whether the stress is acute or chronic.
Effect of Acute Stress on Memory and Concentration. Studies indicate that the immediate effect of acute stress impairs short-term memory, particularly verbal memory. On the plus side, high levels of stress hormone during acute stress have been associated with enhanced memory storage and greater concentration on immediate events.
Effect of Chronic Stress on Memory. If stress becomes chronic, sufferers often experience loss of concentration at work and at home, and they may become inefficient and accident-prone. In children, the physiologic responses to chronic stress can clearly inhibit learning. Chronic stress in older people may play an even more important role in memory loss than the aging process. In one study, for example, older adults with low stress hormone levels tested as well as younger adults in cognitive tests: those with higher stress levels tested between 20% and 50% lower.
Studies have associated prolonged exposure to cortisol (the major stress hormone) to shrinkage in the hippocampus, the center of memory. For example, two studies reported that groups who suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder (Vietnam veterans and women who suffered from sexual abuse) displayed up to 8% shrinkage in the hippocampus. It is not yet known if this shrinkage is reversible.
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