What Affects the Memory
Etleva Beliu1, Ermira Pajaj2
1Etleva Beliu, Ph.D. Department of Mathematical Engineering, Faculty of Mathematical Engineering and Physical Engineering (FME&PhE), University Polytechnic of Tirana, Tirana, Albania.
2Ermira Pajaj, Mother Tereza Hospital, Neurology Department, Tirana, Albania.
Manuscript received on April 18, 2015. | Revised Manuscript received on April 28, 2015. | Manuscript published on March 05, 2015. | PP: 105-108 | Volume-5, Issue-2, May 2015. | Retrieval Number: B2624055215 /2015©BEIESP
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©The Authors. Published By: Blue Eyes Intelligence Engineering and Sciences Publication (BEIESP). This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/
Abstract: Physical exercise affects our body on multiple fronts. It increases heart rate, which means more blood pumped to the brain. It also helps the body release some hormones, that participate in aiding and providing a nourishing environment for the growth of brain cells. Physical exercise training can modify hippocampal and medial temporal lobe volumes. Both of these regions are involved in memorization. The aim of this study is to analyze the effect of physical exercise, of smoking, and using alcohol on the memorizing ability. By using the questionnaires and face-to-face interviews, data is collected from around 300 people of both genders. They have an age range of 15 – 20 years old and are from different schools in Albania ; namely in Tirana and the outskirts of Tirana, in Durres, in Shkodra, Gjirokastra and Vlora. They are asked to read 40 words in 5 minutes and then are tested to see how many of them they can memorize. The questionaire includes demographic information such as age, gender and birth city and questions to measure their lifestyle. In the lifestyle area it is asked about the smoking habbit, alcohol consumption, eating and exercise frequency. The data is analized using SPSS. A normalization of number of memorized words is done. Then, this modified variabel is analized using stepwise multiple regression. The most important independent variables of this model are exercise frequency and alcohol consumption. Exercise frequency is organized in three groups: those who train 0-2 days a week, Level Group 1 (LG1); those who train 3-4 days a week (LG2); and the ones that train more than 4 days a week (LG3). The method of MANOVA shows that there is a statistically obvious increase between two consecutive levelgroups. But there is a very significant difference between the number of memorized words of LG1 and LG2. This research provides evidence that physical exercise and alcohol consumation affect memory.
Keywords: Memory, BDNF molecule, hippocampus, exercise frequency, alcohol consumption, stepwise multiple regression, and MANOVA.