Writing down just five events from the day’s activities significantly improved memory performance in older adults with and without Alzheimer's disease (AD) the following day, and could act as a memory-boosting tool, according to a recent study. This intervention, which involves recalling and documenting daily experiences that happen to an individual, offers a cost-free and easily implementable approach to enhancing memory function.

The RESTED-AD study (Remote Evaluation of Sleep To Enhance Understanding in Early Dementia) investigated the effects of autobiographical recall on memory performance by enrolling 26 participants with a mean age of 70 into two groups – one with, and without, early-stage AD dementia or mild cognitive impairment.

Participants engaged in a word-recognition task (random words displayed) on two separate occasions. In one instance, before bedtime, they were asked to recall, and write down, if possible, five events that happened to them during the day.

The following morning, when asked to recognize the previously shown words, the results indicated improved memory performance in both groups when the bedtime recall exercise was included.

Co-lead researcher Jonathan Blackman, PhD, explained: “On the nights when participants wrote down events from the day, both the people with AD and healthy older adults did better in the memory task, with the AD group benefitting even more."

While the study did not find a direct link between the bedtime recall exercise and sleep-related brain activity, there are other possible explanations. For example, the recall exercise may have stimulated areas of the brain involved in memory just before bedtime, leading to improved memory performance in other tasks.

“If we can show that these study results are repeated and replicated, we think that this could be an easily adopted intervention that could have a meaningful effect on memory,” Blackman said.

To download the study, published in Neuropsychologia, click here