‘Wakeful Resting’ More Effective Than Crosswords To Fight Memory Loss

The Huffington Post:

While recent reports have suggested taking naps during the day could be a sign of impending dementia, mental refreshment does remain vital for cognitive health, report psychologists.

In an article to be published in the journal Psychological Science, psychological scientist Michaela Dewar and her colleagues show that memory can be boosted by taking a brief ‘wakeful rest’ after learning something verbally new and that memory lasts not just immediately but over a longer term.

“Our findings support the view that the formation of new memories is not completed within seconds,” says Dewar, in a statement.

“Indeed our work demonstrates that activities that we are engaged in for the first few minutes after learning new information really affect how well we remember this information after a week.”

Read the whole story: The Huffington Post