Apparently Alcohol Can Improve Your Memory, According To Science

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While most big nights of boozing leave your head feeling pretty fuzzy, new research is suggesting that drinking alcohol can actually improve your memory of the information you learn just before you pour that first glass of wine.

Researchers at the University of Exeter selected 88 social drinkers — 31 men and 57 women between the ages of 18 and 53 — to participate in their experiment and gave them each a word-learning task. They were then randomly split into two groups: one was told to go drink however much they would like, and the other didn’t get to drink at all. (The average alcohol consumption of the drinking group was four units.) The following day, when participants were asked to repeat the initial word-learning task, those who had consumed alcohol ended up remembering more of what they had learned the day prior.

This result has actually been noticed in laboratory settings in the past, but this was the first study to reveal similar findings when people were drinking in a natural environment (like their own homes).

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“The causes of this effect are not fully understood, but the leading explanation is that alcohol blocks the learning of new information and therefore the brain has more resources available to lay down other recently learned information into long-term memory,” professor Celia Morgan said in a statement. “The theory is that the hippocampus — the brain area really important in memory — switches to ‘consolidating’ memories, transferring from short into longer-term memory.”

The scientists also make a point to acknowledge that yes, this is one limited positive side effect among a plethora of negative repercussions of alcohol consumption, especially when it comes to mental health.

So if you just read an incredible book and want to remember it more profoundly, sip on your cocktail of choice as you enjoy feeling nostalgic about the story. But we wouldn’t jump to making this habit a part of your foolproof studying plan just yet.