Green Tea Enhances Memory

Drinking green tea may have immediate beneficial effects on your working memory, according to a recent study.

The study, which was published in the peer-reviewed scientific journal Psychopharmacology, details an investigation of the potential cognitive benefits extract from unoxidized leaves of the Camellia sinensis bush can have on a person.

Green tea has been long hailed as a healthy choice of beverage due to the fact that the Camellia sinensis leaves used to make the tea are unusually rich in antioxidants. Past research has linked regular drinking of green tea to improvements in cardiovascular heath, muscle health, and even weight management (in the case of unsweetened teas), but little research has investigated the potential cognitive benefits of the tea.

Now, according to this latest study, drinking green tea has immediate effects on the brain, boosting the "connectivity between parietal and frontal cortex of the brain."

According to the study, 12 healthy male volunteers were given a milk whey-based soft drink either containing 27.5 g. of green tea extract or no additional ingredient. The volunteers, all around the age 24, were then asked to carry out a number of tasks that measured the efficiency of their working memory. Brain activity was also measured during this these tasks using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI).

Predictably, the researchers found that the men who had recently ingested green tea extract preformed better in their tasks. Brain imaging also showed an increased level of activity in the part of the brain associated with memory in the green-tea participants, compared to the participants who drank an unenhanced soft drink.

According to the authors of the study, these findings indicate that green tea may directly help increase brain connectivity associated with working memory, helping to even stave off memory disorders such as dementia.

The study was published in Psychopharmacology on March 19.