How Stress Works With and Against Your Memory

A little stress can be a great motivator, such as when prompting a student to study before an important exam. A lot of stress, however, can create more of an obstacle than a benefit. This is true when it comes to many things, including health-promoting behaviors, relationships, and even our memory.

Stress can inhibit the way we form and retrieve memories,ultimately affectinghow our memory works. Learn what studies show about the relationship between stress and memory, as well as how to reverse memory loss from stress.

How Stress Affects Memory

Research has found that stress affects our memory in many ways, each of which has different impacts.

Stress and Memory Formation

Stress can affecthow memories are formed.When stressed, people have a more difficult time creating short-term memories and turning those short-term memories into long-term memories. This means that it is more difficult to learn when stressed.

Memories can also change after they are formed. Every time we retrieve a memory, we color it with our present experience of it—like when we take something off a shelf and then put it back, leaving another set of fingerprints from having handled it again.

Stress and Memory Type

Stress can affect the type of memories we form as well. If we are stressed during an event, we may have more difficulty accurately remembering the details of the event later. The stress colors our perception as well as our ability to recall what we perceived.

This is part of why eyewitness testimony is so unreliable.People can’t be absolutely sure that they remember what they saw correctly.

Research shows that if people are questioned and given misleading information about something they experienced, thatinformation will influence their memoryand what they thought they experienced. This new, yet faulty information is then easier to recall because it is more recent than the event itself. This is whyfalse memoriescan be created with well-intentioned lines of questioning.

Additional Impacts

A meta-analysis was conducted on 113 stress studies, meaning that researchers examined these independent studies to determine their major findings. What do these studies show about the relationship between stress and money?

Improve Your Memory Under Stress

There are several things you can do to improve your memory when stressed. Fortunately, these techniques also help manage stress. One of the most important is topractice personal self-care: get enough sleep, eat a healthy diet, and manage stress.

Poor sleep, high stress, and other physical problems can affect memory as well as contribute to the stress that impedes memory formation and retrieval.

Other important strategies work as well. Here are some research-backed strategies to try:

Summary

Stress impacts so much of our lives, and although we can’t always eliminate that stress entirely, we can learn to manage it in a way that will help support self-improvement in many areas of our lives, including improved memory.

9 SourcesVerywell Mind uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.Wolf OT, Atsak P, de Quervain DJ, Roozendaal B, Wingenfeld K.Stress and memory: A selective review on recent developments in the understanding of stress hormone effects on memory and their clinical relevance.J Neuroendocrinol. 2015;28(8). doi:10.1111/jne.12353Vogel S, Schwabe L.Stress in the zoo: Tracking the impact of stress on memory formation over time.Psychoneuroendocrinol. 2016;71:64-72. doi:10.1016/j.psyneuen.2016.04.027Marr C, Sauerland M, Otgaar H, Quaedflieg C, Hope L.The effects of acute stress on eyewitness memory: an integrative review for eyewitness researchers.Memory. 2021;29(8):1091-1100. doi:10.1080/09658211.2021.1955935Shaw J, Porter S.Constructing rich false memories of committing crime.Psychol Sci. 2015;26(3):291-301. doi:10.1177/0956797614562862Shields GS, Sazma MA, Mccullough AM, Yonelinas AP.The effects of acute stress on episodic memory: A meta-analysis and integrative review.Psychol Bull. 2017;143(6):636-675. doi:10.1037/bul0000100Jonsdottir IH, Nordlund A, Ellbin S, et al.Working memory and attention are still impaired after three years in patients with stress-related exhaustion.Scand J Psychol. 2017;58(6):504-509. doi:10.1111/sjop.12394Page JW, Asken M, Zwemer CF,et al.Brief mental skills training improves memory and performance in high stress police cadet training.J Police Crim Psych.2016;31:122–126. doi:10.1007/s11896-015-9171-8Eskilsson T, Slunga järvholm L, Malmberg gavelin H, Stigsdotter neely A, Boraxbekk CJ.Aerobic training for improved memory in patients with stress-related exhaustion: a randomized controlled trial.BMC Psychiatry. 2017;17(1):322. doi:10.1186/s12888-017-1457-1Brisbon NM, Lachman ME.Dispositional mindfulness and memory problems: the role of perceived stress and sleep quality.Mindfulness. 2017;8(2):379-386. doi:10.1007/s12671-016-0607-8Additional ReadingWolf OT, Atsak P, De quervain DJ, Roozendaal B, Wingenfeld K.Stress and memory: a selective review on recent developments in the understanding of stress hormone effects on memory and their clinical relevance.J Neuroendocrinol. 2016;28(8). doi:10.1111/jne.12353

9 Sources

Verywell Mind uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.Wolf OT, Atsak P, de Quervain DJ, Roozendaal B, Wingenfeld K.Stress and memory: A selective review on recent developments in the understanding of stress hormone effects on memory and their clinical relevance.J Neuroendocrinol. 2015;28(8). doi:10.1111/jne.12353Vogel S, Schwabe L.Stress in the zoo: Tracking the impact of stress on memory formation over time.Psychoneuroendocrinol. 2016;71:64-72. doi:10.1016/j.psyneuen.2016.04.027Marr C, Sauerland M, Otgaar H, Quaedflieg C, Hope L.The effects of acute stress on eyewitness memory: an integrative review for eyewitness researchers.Memory. 2021;29(8):1091-1100. doi:10.1080/09658211.2021.1955935Shaw J, Porter S.Constructing rich false memories of committing crime.Psychol Sci. 2015;26(3):291-301. doi:10.1177/0956797614562862Shields GS, Sazma MA, Mccullough AM, Yonelinas AP.The effects of acute stress on episodic memory: A meta-analysis and integrative review.Psychol Bull. 2017;143(6):636-675. doi:10.1037/bul0000100Jonsdottir IH, Nordlund A, Ellbin S, et al.Working memory and attention are still impaired after three years in patients with stress-related exhaustion.Scand J Psychol. 2017;58(6):504-509. doi:10.1111/sjop.12394Page JW, Asken M, Zwemer CF,et al.Brief mental skills training improves memory and performance in high stress police cadet training.J Police Crim Psych.2016;31:122–126. doi:10.1007/s11896-015-9171-8Eskilsson T, Slunga järvholm L, Malmberg gavelin H, Stigsdotter neely A, Boraxbekk CJ.Aerobic training for improved memory in patients with stress-related exhaustion: a randomized controlled trial.BMC Psychiatry. 2017;17(1):322. doi:10.1186/s12888-017-1457-1Brisbon NM, Lachman ME.Dispositional mindfulness and memory problems: the role of perceived stress and sleep quality.Mindfulness. 2017;8(2):379-386. doi:10.1007/s12671-016-0607-8Additional ReadingWolf OT, Atsak P, De quervain DJ, Roozendaal B, Wingenfeld K.Stress and memory: a selective review on recent developments in the understanding of stress hormone effects on memory and their clinical relevance.J Neuroendocrinol. 2016;28(8). doi:10.1111/jne.12353

Wolf OT, Atsak P, de Quervain DJ, Roozendaal B, Wingenfeld K.Stress and memory: A selective review on recent developments in the understanding of stress hormone effects on memory and their clinical relevance.J Neuroendocrinol. 2015;28(8). doi:10.1111/jne.12353Vogel S, Schwabe L.Stress in the zoo: Tracking the impact of stress on memory formation over time.Psychoneuroendocrinol. 2016;71:64-72. doi:10.1016/j.psyneuen.2016.04.027Marr C, Sauerland M, Otgaar H, Quaedflieg C, Hope L.The effects of acute stress on eyewitness memory: an integrative review for eyewitness researchers.Memory. 2021;29(8):1091-1100. doi:10.1080/09658211.2021.1955935Shaw J, Porter S.Constructing rich false memories of committing crime.Psychol Sci. 2015;26(3):291-301. doi:10.1177/0956797614562862Shields GS, Sazma MA, Mccullough AM, Yonelinas AP.The effects of acute stress on episodic memory: A meta-analysis and integrative review.Psychol Bull. 2017;143(6):636-675. doi:10.1037/bul0000100Jonsdottir IH, Nordlund A, Ellbin S, et al.Working memory and attention are still impaired after three years in patients with stress-related exhaustion.Scand J Psychol. 2017;58(6):504-509. doi:10.1111/sjop.12394Page JW, Asken M, Zwemer CF,et al.Brief mental skills training improves memory and performance in high stress police cadet training.J Police Crim Psych.2016;31:122–126. doi:10.1007/s11896-015-9171-8Eskilsson T, Slunga järvholm L, Malmberg gavelin H, Stigsdotter neely A, Boraxbekk CJ.Aerobic training for improved memory in patients with stress-related exhaustion: a randomized controlled trial.BMC Psychiatry. 2017;17(1):322. doi:10.1186/s12888-017-1457-1Brisbon NM, Lachman ME.Dispositional mindfulness and memory problems: the role of perceived stress and sleep quality.Mindfulness. 2017;8(2):379-386. doi:10.1007/s12671-016-0607-8

Vogel S, Schwabe L.Stress in the zoo: Tracking the impact of stress on memory formation over time.Psychoneuroendocrinol. 2016;71:64-72. doi:10.1016/j.psyneuen.2016.04.027

Marr C, Sauerland M, Otgaar H, Quaedflieg C, Hope L.The effects of acute stress on eyewitness memory: an integrative review for eyewitness researchers.Memory. 2021;29(8):1091-1100. doi:10.1080/09658211.2021.1955935

Shaw J, Porter S.Constructing rich false memories of committing crime.Psychol Sci. 2015;26(3):291-301. doi:10.1177/0956797614562862

Shields GS, Sazma MA, Mccullough AM, Yonelinas AP.The effects of acute stress on episodic memory: A meta-analysis and integrative review.Psychol Bull. 2017;143(6):636-675. doi:10.1037/bul0000100

Jonsdottir IH, Nordlund A, Ellbin S, et al.Working memory and attention are still impaired after three years in patients with stress-related exhaustion.Scand J Psychol. 2017;58(6):504-509. doi:10.1111/sjop.12394

Page JW, Asken M, Zwemer CF,et al.Brief mental skills training improves memory and performance in high stress police cadet training.J Police Crim Psych.2016;31:122–126. doi:10.1007/s11896-015-9171-8

Eskilsson T, Slunga järvholm L, Malmberg gavelin H, Stigsdotter neely A, Boraxbekk CJ.Aerobic training for improved memory in patients with stress-related exhaustion: a randomized controlled trial.BMC Psychiatry. 2017;17(1):322. doi:10.1186/s12888-017-1457-1

Brisbon NM, Lachman ME.Dispositional mindfulness and memory problems: the role of perceived stress and sleep quality.Mindfulness. 2017;8(2):379-386. doi:10.1007/s12671-016-0607-8

Wolf OT, Atsak P, De quervain DJ, Roozendaal B, Wingenfeld K.Stress and memory: a selective review on recent developments in the understanding of stress hormone effects on memory and their clinical relevance.J Neuroendocrinol. 2016;28(8). doi:10.1111/jne.12353

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How Stress Affects Memory#

Stress and Memory Formation#

Stress and Memory Type#

Additional Impacts#

Improve Your Memory Under Stress#

Summary#