Memory Getting Worse, Struggling to Make Decisions? It Could be Stress

A new study indicates that being stressed can impact our cognitive abilities.

But even after adjusting for many of these physical risk factors, people with elevated stress levels were 37% more likely to have poor cognition, the researchers found.

As we navigate the ever-increasingly stressful world, it’s quite possible that we will also be struggling with our memories and making poor decisions because of stress’s effect on our brains.

Great.

On the other hand, if we know this, maybe we can start to do something about it. That might look like finding ways to lower the stress we have some control over, understanding what is happening with our abilities in these areas, and seeing these struggles in others for what they are. In short, give ourselves and each other some grace and step back before making rash decisions or digging our heels in on decisions and beliefs. If we suffer cognitively when stressed, let’s admit that maybe, just maybe, we get stuff wrong occasionally.

We are human after all, and “to err is human.”