Social Connection and Cognitive Health: More Than a Feel-Good Finding
Social isolation shows up repeatedly in dementia risk research. The mechanisms proposed are more concrete than the topic's soft reputation suggests.
Memory & Cognitive Health
Most of what you read about memory is oversold.
We report on how memory actually works, what the research supports, and — just as important — where the evidence is thin. No miracle claims, no fear-based headlines, and a clear line between what a study found and what it proved.
Latest articles
50 publishedWhy We Forget: Decay, Interference and the Case for Forgetting Being Useful
Forgetting is usually treated as a malfunction. The research suggests it is closer to a feature — and understanding the mechanisms explains which lapses are worth worrying about.
Blood Pressure and the Brain: One of the Best-Supported Modifiable Risks
Midlife hypertension is among the most consistently identified modifiable risk factors for later cognitive decline — and one of the few where trial evidence exists.
Mindfulness and Attention: A Fair Reading of a Contested Literature
Mindfulness training has been studied extensively for attention and memory. The results are more modest than enthusiasts claim and more real than sceptics allow.
Spaced Repetition: The Best-Supported Learning Technique Most People Ignore
Testing yourself at increasing intervals produces substantially better retention than re-reading. The effect is large, replicated for over a century, and almost nobody uses it.
Napping and Memory: What a Short Sleep Does and Does Not Do
Daytime sleep has measurable effects on retention of material learned beforehand. Duration and timing determine whether a nap helps or costs you the following night.
Thyroid Function and Memory: A Routine Test Worth Asking About
Thyroid dysfunction can produce cognitive symptoms, is common, and is identified by a standard blood test. It is one of the simplest reversible causes to rule out.
Menopause and Brain Fog: What Research Says About Cognitive Change
Cognitive complaints during the menopausal transition are common and frequently dismissed. Research suggests the changes are real, measurable and, for most, temporary.
More from the index
Full indexPhones, Attention and Memory: What Is Established and What Is Not
Claims about phones destroying memory outrun the evidence. The better-supported findings are narrower, and one of them is genuinely useful.
Insomnia and Memory: Why the First-Line Treatment Is Not a Sleeping Pill
Chronic insomnia has cognitive consequences, and the treatment with the strongest evidence is a structured behavioural programme rather than medication.
Multitasking and Memory: The Cost Happens at Encoding
Divided attention is probably the largest controllable cause of everyday forgetting. The memory failure you notice later was caused at the moment you were not paying attention.
Mild Cognitive Impairment: What the Diagnosis Means and What It Does Not
MCI describes cognitive change beyond what is expected for age, without significant impairment of daily function. It is not early dementia, and outcomes vary considerably.
Caffeine and Memory: Real Effects on Attention, Weaker Effects on Recall
Caffeine reliably improves alertness and sustained attention. Whether it improves memory itself is a narrower question with a more qualified answer.
Types of Dementia: Why the Distinction Matters
Dementia is an umbrella term, not a single disease. The main types differ in symptoms, progression and management — and misidentification can lead to harmful treatment decisions.
The Memory Palace: Why an Ancient Technique Still Outperforms Modern Ones
The method of loci is the oldest documented memory technique and remains the most effective for ordered material. It also has clear limits that its enthusiasts rarely mention.
Cognitive Reserve: Why Two Brains With the Same Damage Perform Differently
Autopsy studies found people with substantial Alzheimer's pathology who showed no symptoms in life. The concept developed to explain that gap has real implications.
B Vitamins and Memory: Deficiency Matters, Supplementation Usually Does Not
Vitamin B12 deficiency can cause serious and partly reversible cognitive symptoms. That is a very different claim from supplements improving memory in people who are not deficient.
Interleaving: Why Mixing Practice Feels Worse and Works Better
Practising one thing at a time until you have it feels efficient. Mixing topics produces worse performance during practice and better retention afterwards.
Dehydration and Thinking: A Small Effect That Is Easy to Fix
Mild dehydration has measurable effects on attention and mood in controlled studies. The effect is modest — but unlike most cognitive variables, it is trivially correctable.
Smoking and Cognition: The Risk, and What Happens When People Stop
Smoking is a recognised modifiable risk factor for cognitive decline. The more useful part of the evidence concerns what changes after quitting.