Stress, Can Reduce Your Memory Capability
Do you ever felt very hard pressed to remember anything when you’re having too many problems we face? Even things that are often done every day like remembering motorway exit to the office.
Overslept, unusual jams, car tire suddenly deflated in the middle of the road, while having to arrive at work early because they have to prepare an important meeting which will begin in a few minutes, not to mention the need to complete a pile of work in an office that has been waiting. Everything is a problem that often we encounter daily, and can cause stress.
When you are faced in a situation of depression due to stress effects, the body will then respond its called fight / flight response. This condition will determines where a person should choose to react with aggressive behavior or just leave a stressful situation.
That’s when the adrenal glands / child kidneys in the body quickly produces adrenaline. If the threat is too severe or persist after a few minutes, adrenals then release cortisol which is often called the stress hormone, cortisol, although it is not only generated during stressful situations only.
Cortisol in sufficient quantities it has a good effect on the body such as increasing the burst of energy, improve memory functions, and enhance immunity. However, after that when the body is unable to provide the relaxation response is important to return to normal functioning of the body, the hormone cortisol will settle, causing a condition called chronic stress.
Stress hormones released repeatedly have effects on brain function, especially memory. Too much cortisol can prevent the brain to store memory, or access existing memory.
Renowned brain researcher, Robert M. Sapolsky, has shown that stress which occurs continuously may damage the hippocampus, a part of the limbic system of the brain that is central to learning and memory. Hormones are responsible for glucocorticoid-steroid hormone released by the adrenal glands / child kidney during stress, that also known as corticosteroids or cortisol.
According to James McGaugh, director of the Center for the Neurobiology of Learning and Memory at the University of California, Irvine, “this effect only lasts for a few hours, so the effects of damage in this case are only temporary. Memory is not lost, just not as accessible or inaccessible for some time. “However, if the situation occurs repeatedly and continue to cause damage to the hippocampus, it will accelerate the decline in hippocampal function permanently.
In addition to affecting memory, high cortisol can cause damage to cognitive function, suppress thyroid function, causing blood sugar imbalance, lower bone density, causes a decrease in muscle tissue, increase blood pressure, lowered immunity and inflammatory response of the body, slowed wound healing, increased abdominal fat subsequently associated with heart attacks, strokes, and other health problems.
Stress is actually not always bringing danger to health. Our bodies are designed to be able to deal with such situations. However, it will be different things with stress time and occurs repeatedly, which turned out to have an influence on the brain. Living in a big city full of pressure must be handled properly. Stress is considered normal in everyday life should be regarded as a ‘friend’, rather than the opponent
