What affects short-term memory? - Questionnaire and experiment based cross-sectional study on medical under graduate students

Short-term memory (STM) is the part of memory process in which the memory traces from the items and sensory information initially enter the memory state temporarily. The short term memory can be affected by our lifestyle like alcohol consumption, diet, sleep, etc. This study designed to investigate the effect of dietary preferences, eating habits, sleep and exercise attitude of a student with their STM. The study involved 190 medical undergraduate students age ranging between 17-19 years. The study comprised of a questionnaire with the close-ended question about lifestyle details of students, followed by an experiment in which images of familiar objects, words, and numerical digits were projected for specified time. Students recall capacity were tested that implies their STM. Result of the study revealed higher STM for the students who take Omega 3 diet supplements, regular exercises, and adequate sleep. Students who involve in substance abuse, consume more caffeinated drinks were shown to have poor STM. It can be concluded that lifestyle of the individual is often associated with their STM. Refrain from the attitudes that affect the STM can avoid cognitive deficits and poor academic performance of the students.