At The Right Levels, Stress Can Have a Surprising Impact on Memory

Stress can help your short-term memory in the long run.

Mental stress is only bad when it crosses a threshold according to new research from the University of Georgia.

It seems to have a beneficial effect on a person's working memory.

Participants in the study were tested on their memory by recognizing tools and faces. Their brain was being scanned.

Researchers noticed that participants who reported higher levels of stress on a questionnaire had less activity in the area of their brains responsible for short-term memories.

Those who experienced low to moderate levels of stress had higher working memory activity in their brains. Better performance on the memory test was associated with this activity.

Preliminary evidence suggests a link between stress levels and working memory, even though the results don't test stress levels directly.

The hormesis hypothesis theorizes that stress can have a positive and negative effect on the brain. A new frontier of psychological research is being pushed by the validity of hormesis.

When levels of stress are low, a study found that working memory can be affected. No effect is seen if they are low.

The findings suggest environmental stress isn't always harmful to the functioning of our brains.

Some researchers think it may be.

The hormesis hypothesis has only been used in a few studies so far, but the initial results are intriguing.

Preconditioning may help an animal's stress tolerance. Stress can help an individual deal with stress later.

Animals could react better to future problems if they were able to manage stress.

Some studies show that rats with chronic mild stress have better working memory.

Low to moderate stress levels are associated with memory benefits in our species.

"Based on this hypothesis, preconditioning underlies an inoculation phase in which the organisms is reorganized, prepared, and behaviorally cope with subsequent stress more effectively," wrote Assaf Oshri, a psychology researcher at the UGA.

Stress can prove detrimental if an individual's mental or emotional pressure grows beyond what they have learned to deal with. It can contribute to muscle tension, high blood pressure, heart disease, immune system issues, and many more.

Those who reported having a stronger social support network seemed to have a better handle on their stress levels.

Increasing feelings of pressure and tension can be mitigated by family and friends.

The authors concluded that the cognitive benefits of exposure to low-moderate stress levels were demonstrated.

Longitudinal studies can further our understanding of how hormesis may underlie the development of adaptation to stress.

There was a study published.