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"There is increasing evidence that our memories are far better than ever we thought." |
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| Coffee & Mental Performance |
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We have just celebrated the Millennium and amongst many other activities, there
was one celebration to mark the start of the Century of the Brain. A new
encyclopaedia has also just been published on the use of the brain, and in the early
90's so many people were interested in the power of memory that the first World
Memory Championship was held.
So, what do we know of the brain and its role in thinking and memory?
Whilst we all worry that our memory is inadequate, there is increasing
evidence that our memories are far better than ever we thought. It might decline with
age but only if it is not used. Like breathing, when all is well, things runs so
smoothly that we hardly notice what our memory does for us each day. Everything
we do throughout the day is a function of our memories and it is only because
the occasions when we forget are so rare, that we notice it so much!
From the time when we were first aware of using our mind to cope with our
surroundings, we have acknowledged the powerful advantages of a good memory in
society. The Greeks in the 6th Century BC were the first to develop physical rather
than spiritual ideas about the memory. It was thought at that time that memory
was a mixture of light and dark or heat and cold and as long as the mixture
remained unstirred, the memory would be perfect.
It was Plato in the early 4th Century BC who introduced the Wax Tablet
Hypothesis and this theory was accepted until relatively recently. Plato's theory was
that impressions were made on the mind in much the same way as on wax and there
they would remain until time wore them away. A smooth surface was therefore
equivalent to complete forgetting.
At this stage memory was not linked to any particular organ of the body and it
was not until Aristotle nearly a hundred years later attributed to the heart,
most of the functions now associated with the brain. He also developed the
concepts of associating ideas and images that is accepted today as being of paramount
importance to memory function.
Little new thinking happened during the next 500 years until in the 2nd
Century AD, when a physician called Galen, put forward some ideas that linked memory
to the function of the soul and that the soul was located in the brain. This idea
was rapidly taken up by the Church and there was little done, even by the great
thinkers, such as Descartes, to oppose this doctrine until the 17th Century.
It was only with the development of new areas of science in the 18th and 19th
Century that the links between electrical forces and brain functions began to
emerge. Further advances in technology and biochemistry enabled research to
demonstrate by the late 1950's that RNA, a complex molecule derived for DNA, is
involved in much of the our ability to think and remember
Modern research has taken a further step by suggesting that it is possible
that each brain cell in itself can act as a mini-brain. The brain is enormously
complex and offers researchers and scientists some very exciting work as they begin
to understand the incredible potential of the memory.
How does coffee affect memory?
Memory can be divided in Short Term Memory (STM), working memory (the part
that is using active information) and Long Term Memory (LTM). Coffee helps mainly
with STM and the working memory when normal amounts of information have to be
dealt with
Coffee helps to improve alertness, attention and wakefulness and by that means
it facilitates learning. In other words, coffee helps optimise the energy
sources you have for learning**.
It also compensates fatigue by increasing the level of alertness. The benefits
are found mostly during the course of a long exam or test, when you get tired.
Will coffee lead to better focussed attention when studying?
Yes. Drinking coffee helps to focus your attention to the main task, when
there are many things around needing your attention. It draws attention to what you
need to learn and leads to less distraction although doing different things at
the same time may in itself be stimulating enough.
However, drinking more will result in over- stimulation and that may impair
your learning and attention.
Is it sensible to drink coffee while doing exams?
Doing exams is an energy - and attention demanding activity; coffee may help
to sharpen your mind, assuming that you are a regular coffee drinker. Since,
coffee is used as a mood optimiser, it may help to find the most appropriate state
of mind to make a success of the exam.
If you are not a regular coffee drinker, then coffee may not be your best
choice. So, in that case, stick to the drink you are accustomed to.
If I feel my concentration is fading, is coffee helpful in refreshing it?
Yes. Although concentration is also a question of putting effort into what you
are doing. If your concentration slips away, take a break with coffee and this
change of mind may help you to concentrate again.
** Learning is defined as the acquisition and storage of information.
For further information, visit References
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