CANBERRA - Turning off the television, picking up a crossword and eating more
fish could be the key to a better memory, an Australian survey has found.
Results of the on-line survey of almost 30,000 people, conducted as part of
Australia's science week, also found people who read fiction had better memories
than those who don't, while heavy drinkers found it more difficult to recall
names.
But neuro-psychologist Nancy Pachana said television was not necessarily bad
for memory, with wider health and diet and an active lifestyle more crucial to a
good memory.
"Your memory is dependent on good health and good mental health," Pachana,
from the University of Queensland's school of psychology, told Reuters on
Monday.
Dubbed the National Memory Test, the quiz attracted 29,500 people who were
tested on tasks such as remembering a shopping list, recalling names, faces and
occupations, long-term recall and spotting differences between two photographs.
Those who took part in the test were asked to fill in a survey on a range of
habits, such as alcohol consumption, television viewing and reading habits.
The results found no differences between men and women, with the same scores
for both groups on all the tasks. But it found television viewing had the main
impact on results.
"Turn off the box, or at least don't view too much of it," the survey results
said, adding those who watched less than one hour a day performed better at all
memory tasks".
Those who drank less than two alcoholic drinks a day performed better at all
memory tasks.
People who did crosswords were better at remembering shopping lists and
recalling names, while eating fish once a week improved the ability to remember
shopping lists.
However, it cautioned that while the test can give people an indication of
their memory, the results have not been tested for statistical significance, and
the internet survey meant it was possible that people could have cheated or
lied.
Pachana said having an active mind was important for memory, and some
television programmes could be good for helping to improve the memory.
"TV can be a really passive activity, while reading is active, and any active
activity is better," she said, adding TV quiz shows and news programmes could be
good for the mind.
"So TV is not all that bad. It just might be taking time away from doing
something that is a bit more active for the mind."
She said health issues such as depression, obesity, lack of sleep and being
stressed or worried could have an impact on a person's performance in a memory
test.
The test is available on-line at www.nationalmemorytest.net.au.
