Skip to main content

Jordan Wirfs-Brock's Library tagged stress →  View Popular

30 Jul 09

Marathons and Memory : The Frontal Cortex

At The Frontal Cortex Jonah Lehrer has a post on marathon running and memory. Stress, like the stress from running for 4 hours, is known to disrupt memory -- but all memory isn't disrupted equally. The study found that after a marathon, runners had reduced "explicit" memory (ability to remember specific words, facts, numbers, etc.) but improved "implicit" memory (the ability to remember actions, motions, processes, etc.).

Fascinating! As someone who has run -- oh, is it 5? -- marathons I definitely felt a deterioration in my cognitive abilities as the races progressed. My ability to do simple math (like calculating mile splits) withered away. But it wasn't because I couldn't add anymore -- I could do that just fine. It was always because I couldn't remember what my watch said one mile earlier. That's a distinctly "explicit" memory function.

scienceblogs.com/...marathons_and_memory.php - Preview

memory cognition marathon running stress jonah lehrer

11 Jun 08

Real nature, not faux, lowers stress levels

  • In the study, just published in the Journal of Environmental Psychology, researchers stuck 90 co-eds one-at-a-time in an office and assigned them mental tasks. Thirty could look out a window at a fountain and big trees, 30 looked at a plasma screen showing the same thing and 30 faced a blank wall.



    They were connected to a monitor and their heart rates tested 60 seconds after stress was induced. The heart rates dropped faster in students who spent more time gazing out the window.

1 - 2 of 2
Showing 20▼ items per page

Selected Tags

Related Tags

Sponsored Links

Ads by Google

Diigo is about better ways to research, share and collaborate on information. Learn more »

Join Diigo