Neuroscientist: drinking alcohol can be good for your memory

Are you unsure whether or not to have that glass of wine tonight with your girlfriends? Well, definitely go for it, because now you have a very legitimate reason.

Do you know Dean Burnett? From now on, he is your best friend. He is also our best friend, because Dean is a neuroscientist and he has discovered something nice for all of us. Namely: alcohol can help improve your memory. ‘A glass of wine to refresh your memory,’ it says in his book The Idiot Brain. Because, as he says: drinking alcohol can boost your memory to some extent.

Here's how it works: your memory is a complex thing in your brain that scientists have been studying for centuries. It’s not just one specific place in your brain. But what Dean has discovered is that when you have drunk two glasses of wine and solve a math problem (you have to be in the mood for that, on that terrace, but that’s beside the point), you are likely to solve that math problem much more easily two days later. Especially if you then also drink two more glasses of wine. It has been proven that people can remember things better when they are in the same context. So those two glasses of wine suddenly make you think of x and y and to the power of three. And then suddenly you remember it again. And that’s not all. It has also been proven that people who had to learn something and then drank alcohol could repeat all the learned words better a week or so later. Look, that’s something useful.

It’s because your brain gets a little ‘break’ from that alcohol. It doesn’t have to work so hard for a while, because due to alcohol, some things in your brain don’t work as well (think about: your ability to walk straight, but also think about: your ability to speak without slurring). This allows your brain to better retain the information you previously gave to it.

If you get thirsty this weekend: definitely solve that math problem before you pour yourself a Chardo. Solve that rebus. That riddle. Because the chances are high that you can do it much easier afterwards. Well, it’s not an excuse to suddenly go all out on the drinks because unfortunately, it’s not true to say that we get smarter from a drink. But this is something, right? Thanks, Dean, even though we don’t know you personally.

The wise lesson we teach you: if you study with a glass of bubbles on your desk for a test or a presentation or a meeting: then drink that same champagne again when you have to perform. The chances are high that your brain will make a connection between your practice session and your real moment to shine. And that helps. We don’t recommend it, you know, being tipsy at work talking about targets and budgets and profit margins, but now you just know that it can potentially happen.

Source: Book The Idiot Brain, Dean Burnett. Medical News Today