Jamie Slater, special to WTOP.com
WASHINGTON — Caffeine addicts rejoice: There may be a new excuse for you to fuel your addiction throughout the day.
Drinking coffee or tea may improve your long- term memory, if you consume it after the event you want to remember.
A recent study from Johns Hopkins University and the University of California Irvine discovered that memory retention rates increased by 12 percent in subjects who were given caffeine after studying a series of images. The boost in the participants’ memories of the images lasted for at least 24 hours after viewing the images.
So next time you need to remember an important meeting at work or those history notes you spent hours poring over, try grabbing a coffee right after.
Men’s Health says that 200 milligrams of caffeine — 12 ounces of coffee or 30 ounces of tea — is enough. Since caffeine takes an hour to affect you most, feel free to get that cup up to an hour before your meeting or study session is set to end.
Until now, ScienceDaily reports, studies have shown caffeine to have little to no effect on memory, so take advantage of this news and go get yourself a celebratory latte — right after studying for an hour, of course.
