Can Stress Make a Person Forget?

Stress is your body's reaction to perceived threats and danger. It occurs when your body is given more to deal with than it usually handles physically and psychologically. Multiple factors can cause stress, including excess physical activity, work, family dynamics, peer pressure relationship problems, financial issues, illness and grief. Some stress is normal and can even be helpful. However, continued stress can have serious effects on your health.

Symptoms

• Stress can affect your body, your mood and your behavior. Typical symptoms include headaches, muscle tension, forgetfulness, stomach problems, insomnia, anxiety, depression and eating disorders. When stress is relieved, these symptoms usually subside.

Memory Loss

• While forgetfulness, or short-term memory loss, is associated with intermittent stress, if the stress continues, then it can affect the central nervous system to such a degree that the damage is irreversible. Stress causes the adrenal glands to increase cortisol production.

  This adrenaline can be useful in the short term, as adrenaline triggers fight-or-flight reactions in the body. Continued stress, though, causes the production of chemicals known as excitatory amino acid neurotransmitters. Over time, these substances cause nerve fibers in the hippocampus to waste away. This affects memory capabilities, since the hippocampus is the area of the brain responsible for memory.

Stress and Aging

• Scientists at the Rutgers University's Memory Disorders Project have found evidence that exposure to stress during a lifetime gradually increases stress hormone levels in the blood, which contributes to age-related memory disorders and impairment. Following 51 elderly men over a six-year period, they found that those who had steadily increasing levels of stress hormones in their blood showed significantly more-cognitive impairments. Older adults are also more vulnerable to depression, social isolation and the effects of long-term diseases. The stress from these factors can worsen cognitive impairments, including forgetfulness, brought about by conditions such as dementia, Parkinson's disease and Alzheimer's disease.

Treating Stress

• It is important to reduce or, at least, better manage stress to stave off serious damage to the central nervous system. Relaxation, exercise, socialization and sufficient sleep can all help keep stress at bay. While it is easy to choose to ignore issues and bury your head in the sand, you will find that facing issues and addressing them will help to minimize stress.