Memory

Study skills to improve memory

By R. Ryan S Patel DO, FAPA OSU-CCS Psychiatrist

To do well in exams, students need to study material and retrieve this material at the time of exams.

This post discusses a strategy to quickly improve memory followed by other strategies to improve memory.

A small study of 36 healthy young adults conducted by Soya and colleagues, found immediate improvements in memory after just 10 minutes of low-intensity pedaling on a stationary bike (1,3).

How intense and what other type of exercise could be helpful?

A quick, light workout—which they liken in intensity to yoga or tai chi or 30% of each person’s maximum rate of oxygen consumption during exercise—was associated with heightened activity in the brain’s hippocampus, which helps us remember facts and events (1,3).

Earlier studies by Soya et.al. in rodents that found increased activity in the hippocampus and improved performance on tests of spatial memory after a light-intensity run on a controlled treadmill and more intense exercise didn’t offer the same memory boost (2,3).

How was memory assessed?

Memory was assessed using a memory test while researchers captured their brain activity by high resolution fMRI (1,3).

What were the results?

Participants made fewer errors on the image recognition test after they completed 10 minutes of very light exercise than when they only rested on the bike (1,3).

What did the brain scans show?

Brain scans of people during memory testing showed that improved memory performance was accompanied by increased activity and connectivity in the brain.

What are some caveats?

This is a small study and further research is needed.

The observed benefits of just 10 minutes of very light exercise were seen in healthy young adults (1,3).

It is not clear if longer exercise duration is more beneficial.

What else can you do to improve memory?

  • Get atleast 8 hours of sleep per night because sleep deprivation can impact many aspects of brain functioning.
  • Minimize distractions such as music or loud noises when studying, and study in an environment with minimal clutter even when you are not studying.
  • Eat healthy foods to fuel your brain.

Strategies to improve short term memory:

  1. Study frequently, in smaller chunks, and review material every few days to weeks.
  2. Entry and exit: review the hardest material first, and last.
  3. Create a meaning out of what you are learning, such as turning it into a story or a picture, linking the study material into something familiar, etc.
  4. Rearrange and combine material to make it easier to learn.
  5. Use mnemonics or memory tricks. Example, ROY G BIV stands for the colors of the rainbow: red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, violet.
  6. Turn studying into a game such as flash cards, give yourself a test that you make, word matching, quiz, and exams.
  7. To watch a video on this, go to the Dennis Learning Center: https://dennislearningcenter.osu.edu/short-term-memory/

Strategies to improve long term memory:

  1. Structure information into a map or pattern (schematizing).
  2. Study frequently, in chunks, and review material every few days to weeks.
  3. Turn studying into a game such as flash cards, give yourself a test that you make, word matching, quiz, and exams.
  4. Picking out relevant information (main ideas such as chapter/paragraph headings, 1st sentence of paragraph/page, bold/italicized items) that helps you remember the bigger chunks of information (abstracting).
  5. Add something new to the information to make it stick, such as writing the information in your own words, write questions, and own examples (elaboration).
  6. Re-organizing information into diagrams, charts, or other structures that make sense to you (organizing).
  7. To watch a video on this, go to the Dennis Learning Center: https://dennislearningcenter.osu.edu/long-term-memory/

Most importantly, invest in study skills by reading books, exploring online resources on study skills.

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Disclaimer: This article is intended to be informative only. It is advised that you check with your own physician/mental health provider before implementing any changes. With this article, the author is not rendering medical advice, nor diagnosing, prescribing, or treating any condition, or injury; and therefore claims no responsibility to any person or entity for any liability, loss, or injury caused directly or indirectly as a result of the use, application, or interpretation of the material presented.

References

  1. Rapid stimulation of human dentate gyrus function with acute mild exercise. Suwabe K, Byun K, Hyodo K, Reagh ZM, Roberts JM, Matsushita A, Saotome K, Ochi G, Fukuie T, Suzuki K, Sankai Y, Yassa MA, Soya H. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2018 Sep 24. [Epub ahead of print]
  2. Long-term mild exercise training enhances hippocampus-dependent memory in rats. Inoue K, Hanaoka Y, Nishijima T, Okamoto M, Chang H, Saito T, Soya H. Int J Sports Med. 2015 Apr;36(4):280-285.
  3. https://directorsblog.nih.gov/2018/10/02/study-suggests-light-exercise-helps-memory/

 

Meditation for attention, stress, and anxiety

By R. Ryan S Patel DO, FAPA OSU-CCS Psychiatrist

Life transitions can be times of increased stress and anxiety; which can also impact your attention and focus.  One of those transitions includes moving to campus, preparing for the beginning of the fall semester, adjusting to new routines, campus life, etc.

While there are many strategies to help with the transition process, meditation may be the 1 thing to consider because it can be quick, easy, and has low potential for side effects; and has the potential to benefit everyone.  It is practiced by some of the most successful people in the world.

A review of 13 studies showed improvement in ADHD symptoms with mindfulness meditation (1).

41 trials show mindfulness meditation helped improve stress related outcomes such as anxiety, depression, stress, positive mood, etc. (2)

A review of 14 clinical trials shows meditation being more effective than relaxation techniques for anxiety (3).

What are come caveats?

  • While there are many types of mediation techniques, mindfulness-based meditation is the most studied.
  • Different people may benefit from different types of meditation, and this area is being further researched.
  • Practicing regularly may lead to improved benefits.

How to learn meditation?

  • Various apps, books, videos, classes, and guides may be a useful introduction to meditation.

What else might help improve attention, anxiety, and stress related to the beginning of the semester?

What are some helpful resources?

Disclaimer: This article is intended to be informative only. It is advised that you check with your own physician/mental health provider before implementing any changes. With this article, the author is not rendering medical advice, nor diagnosing, prescribing, or treating any condition, or injury; and therefore claims no responsibility to any person or entity for any liability, loss, or injury caused directly or indirectly as a result of the use, application, or interpretation of the material presented.

References:

  1. Poissant, H., Mendrek, A., Talbot, N., Khoury, B., & Nolan, J. (2019). Behavioral and Cognitive Impacts of Mindfulness-Based Interventions on Adults with Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder: A Systematic Review. Behavioural neurology, 2019, 5682050. doi:10.1155/2019/5682050
  2. Goyal M, Singh S, Sibinga EMS, et al. Meditation Programs for Psychological Stress and Well-Being [Internet]. Rockville (MD): Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (US); 2014 Jan. (Comparative Effectiveness Reviews, No. 124.)Available from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK180102/
  3. Montero-Marin, J., Garcia-Campayo, J., Pérez-Yus, M., Zabaleta-del-Olmo, E., & Cuijpers, P. (n.d.). Meditation techniques v. relaxation therapies when treating anxiety: A meta-analytic review. Psychological Medicine,1-16. doi:10.1017/S0033291719001600

Cannabis Might Worsen Memory and Stopping It Might Improve It

By R. Ryan S Patel DO, FAPA OSU-CCS Psychiatrist

As of 2016, about 37 million individuals in the United States reported using cannabis / marijuana in the last year (1).

This is projected to increase in the future as many states move to legalize medicinal and or recreational cannabis or marijuana use.

As with many things like excessive junk food, excessive alcohol, tobacco, etc. being legal does NOT ALWAYS mean being  healthy.

For example, a recent study looked at cannabis and false memories (2), while another study looked at memory changes after stopping cannabis (3).

What was the first study? (2)

  • 23 healthy people aged 18 to 29 with and without tetrahydrocannabinol (THC).
  • They were asked to learn material while sober.
  • 2 days later, researchers compared memory recall among those who had used cannabis vs those who had not 2 hours before the test.

What were the study results of the first study (2)

In the first study, subjects who used cannabis 2 hours prior to the test were more likely to have false recognition of words and pictures that had not been presented during the sober study session (2).

What does this mean?

This small study suggests that cannabis use might impact academic performance (2), though further study is needed.

What was the second study (3)?

  • 88 individuals (Average age 21 years) who used cannabis at least weekly were randomized to 30 days of abstinence or to a control group, abstinence confirmed through biochemical testing (3).
  • Participants underwent cognitive testing at baseline and then weekly for 4 weeks.

What were the results of the second study? (3)

This 4 week study showed that improvements in memory started at week 1 and continued improvement through week 4. (3)

What does this mean?

  • This small study implies stopping cannabis may improve memory; and further longer, larger studies are underway (3).
  • Subjects used cannabis atleast weekly, and it is unclear if there is a difference in benefit among heavy vs light users.
  • These studies suggest that Cannabis or Marijuana may impact your ability to remember, and may cause false recall during tests; as well as memory improvement after stopping cannabis use.  A previous post showed that cannabis may increase alcohol intake (4).

How else is cannabis impacting you?

What are some useful resources regarding cannabis?

Drug treatment group at OSU Office of Student Life Counseling and Consultation Service.

Treatment Facilities in the Columbus, Ohio area:

Disclaimer: This article is intended to be informative only. It is advised that you check with your own physician/mental health provider before implementing any changes. With this article, the author is not rendering medical advice, nor diagnosing, prescribing, or treating any condition, or injury; and therefore claims no responsibility to any person or entity for any liability, loss, or injury caused directly or indirectly as a result of the use, application, or interpretation of the material presented.

References:

  1. Center for Behavioral Health Statistics and Quality, 2016 National Survey on Drug Use and Health: Detailed Tables, Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, Rockville 2017.  http://www.samhsa.gov
  2. Doss MK et al. Δ9-Tetrahydrocannibinol at retrieval drives false recollection of neutral and emotional memories. Biol Psychiatry 2018 May 9; [e-pub]. (https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biopsych.2018.04.020) .
  3.  Schuster RM, Gilman J, Schoenfeld D, et al. One month of cannabis abstinence in adolescents and young adults is associated with improved memory. J Clin Psychiatry. 2018;79(6):17m11977 .
  4. https://u.osu.edu/emotionalfitness/2017/02/08/study-impact-of-cannabis-on-alcohol/