What Conditions Affect Your Memory?

Learning is greatly influenced by ones state of mind. A student's ability to recall newly learned material can be correlated to her frame of consciousness. She will demonstrate a measurably higher retention rate when asked to recall information that was learned using the "same" state of mind. This is because learning that takes place in one situation or state is generally better remembered later in a similar situation or state.

The medical term that describes this phenomenon is State Dependent Learning. The American Heritage Medical Journal defines SDL as learning information in one particular state that cannot be recalled or used unless the subject is restored to the same state when this learning first occurred.


Environmental context: Subjects who learn information in one room are able to remember more when tested in the same room than in a novel room. Other environmental influences may include the time of day and the people who are present.

Physical state: Subjects who learn new information while under the influence of a drug, such as caffeine or nicotine, will perform better if tested under the influence of the same drug.

Emotional state: Subjects who are sad are better able to remember unhappy or unpleasant memories; subjects who are happy are better able to remember happy or pleasant memories. The effect of emotional state is amplified in subjects with depression, who may show disproportionate retrieval of unhappy memories -- thus unintentionally heightening their own feelings of depression.

Sensory modality: Subjects given information in verbal format may be more able to answer verbal questions about the information, while subjects to whom the information is presented in a visual format may be more able to recognize the same information again when presented visually.

Students who typically cram for an examination often times use caffeine or other stimulants as a late night studying aid. The rule of thumb, as State Dependent Learning applies, however, is to only take a substance to aid in studying if you have enough of said substance to take it before your examination, and are willing to do so. If you don't want to be buzzed out on coffee for your test, don't be buzzed when you study. It won't help you.

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