I wanted to continue the discussion on caffeine by focusing on caffeine and memory. Based on popular belief, caffeine is always thought to boost mental awareness and therefore gets automatic credit in improving cognitive abilities such as memory and processing speed (thinking speed).

Memory

There has been numerous research articles written on the subject of caffeine and memory. By studying several journal articles, I wanted to take a look at the effects of caffeine on memory. According to Mednick, et al., their experimental outcomes suggested that while caffeine increases alertness, it impairs verbal memory and motor learning.(2008) Other research that has been done with children provide strong evidence that caffeine intake can impair cognitive performance tasks that include memory (Keller 1995). A study that examined caffeine levels and memory in rats found that caffeine decreases memory intake but improves memory retention (Angelucci, et al. 2002). So in other words, this study shows that caffeine can hurt intake in memory or new information but once its in, it can be retained more easily. To me, this makes sense if we apply it to humans. I know from personal experience that its harder to comprehend reading while under the influence of higher levels of caffeine. Sometimes my reading is jumpy or sporadic.

This segways into my next topic for my caffeine series, Caffeine and the speed at which we think.

If you enjoyed reading this article, check out the previous article about Caffeine and performance.

Sources

Angelucci, M. E. M., Cesario, C., Hiroi, R. H., Rosalen, P. L., Da Cunha, C. (2002) Effects of caffeine of learning and memory in rats tested in the Morris water maze. Brazilian Journal of Medical and Biological Research, 35(10), 1201-1208.

Keller, S.L. (1995) Effects of caffeine consumption on cardiovascular indices, attention, task performance, and memory retention in children. Dissertation Abstracts International, 55(12-B), 5595.

Mednick, S. C., Cai, D. J., Kanady, J., Drummond, S. P. A. (2008) Comparing the benefits of caffeine , naps, and placebo on verbal, motor and perceptual memory. Behavorial Brain Research, 193(1), 79-86.

How much caffeine is too much? We all drink caffeine through coffee, sodas, and teas to help us get an edge on a sleep deprived day or perhaps just enhance our performance. Consider the fine line between too much caffeine or too little. Performance, whether intellectual or fine motor skills, can be increased to an optimal level. There is a happy median between too little caffeine and too much. This can go for all stimulants in general, but for the purposes of this article, I will focus on caffeine. Have you even had one cup of coffee and felt alert to the point of being at an optimal level of intellectual performance? Then on the other hand, had too much coffee and felt frazzled/ unorganized? This isn’t your imagination and can be explain in the graph below:

Image source: Fig. 6.4 of

Ksir, C., Hart, C.L., & Ray, O. (2008) Drugs, society, and human behavior (12^th Ed.). Boston: McGraw Hill.

As caffeine levels rise, you become more alert and performance appears to increase (Both intellectually and physically). Caffeine levels continue to rise and you become more excited. Performance starts to fall at this point and drops dramatically furthermore as dose increases. Examples of this can include jumpy selective attention, jittery body movements, and increased heart rate. It’s also very hard to concentrate on a complex cognitive task. ie: reading/writing/critical thinking.

In conclusion, be aware of your fine line between under stimulation and over stimulation. If you are planning to get something done and think the more caffeine you have the better, be aware of this model. Performance and organization can suffer with an overabundance of caffeine. This idea is further illustrated with a non caffeinated and caffeinated spider pictured below making its web:

Image Source

Content Source:

Ksir, C., Hart, C.L., & Ray, O. (2008) Drugs, society, and human behavior (12^th Ed.). Boston: McGraw Hill.