There are steps that one can take to protect and strengthen the hippocampus, so it continues to function well. Some of these are getting enough sleep, exercising regularly and adopting mindful practices.
Sleep.
Studies show that memory and learning is impacted when a person is even slightly sleep-deprived. Although it is known that the function of the hippocampus is impaired when exposed to the chemicals that body produces when subjected to chronic stress (1), a lack of sleep will inhibit neurogenesis, the ability to create new neural networks, in the hippocampus even when the biological markers for stress are not present (2).
According to the CDC, adults should get 7-8 hours of sleep each night (3). Yet 50-70 million Americans do not get this much sleep due to sleep and wakefulness disorders (4).
Exercise.
There are two important chemicals that give the brain some resilience to the effects of stress. Brain Derived Neurotrophic Factor (BDNF) is a protein that plays a role in the development of nerve cells and later functions to protect them. (5). Exercise is known to increase the levels of BDNF in the hippocampus (6). Gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) is an inhibitory neurotransmitter in the central nervous system that is instrumental in disrupting the “anxiety feedback loop in the brain” (7).
Since being stress-free makes it easier to learn, activities that promote the production of these two substances along with serotonin is a natural way to boost the brain’s ability to learn. What’s even better is that randomized studies suggest that the effects of exercise as measured by hippocampal volume and prefrontal cortex pliability last for 6 months to a year (8).
Meditative Practices.
The effects of regular mindful meditation are numerous and well documented. For learning this means being able to focus without difficulty. One of the things that mindfulness does is promote the ability to concentrate and some people feel that mindfulness is an effective cognitive shortcut to achieve this.
- Cassilhas RC, Lee KS, Venâncio DP, Oliveira MG, Tufik S, de Mello MT et al. Resistance exercise improves hippocampus-dependent memory. Med Biol [Internet]. 2012[cited 2015 Feb 20];45(12):1215-20. Available from: PubMed.
2. Meerlo P, Mistlberger RE, Jacobs BL, Heller HC, McGinty D. New neurons in the adult brain: the role of sleep and consequences of sleep loss. Sleep Med Rev. [Internet]. 2009[cited 2015 Feb 20];13(3):187-94. Available from http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18848476
3. Centers for Disease Control (US.) Are you getting enough sleep? [Internet]. Atlanta (GA): Centers for Disease Control; 2014 Apr 14 [cited 2015 Feb 20] Available from: http://www.cdc.gov/features/sleep/
- Colten HR, Altevogt BM. Institute of Medicine (US). Committee on Sleep Medicine and Research; Sleep Disorders and Sleep Deprivation: An Unmet Public Health Problem [Internet]. Washington (DC): National Academies Press; 2006 [cited 2015 Feb 20]. Available from: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK19961/
- HOPES (US). Brain derived Neurotrophic factor (BDNF) [Internet]. Stanford (CA): Stanford University; 2010 May [cited 2015 Feb 20]. Available from: http://web.stanford.edu/group/hopes/cgi-bin/wordpress/2010/06/brain-derived-neurotrophic-factor-bdnf/
- Xu B. BDNF(I)rising from Exercise. Cell Metab [Internet]. 2013 [cited 2015 Feb 20]; 18(5): 612–614. Available from: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24206660
- Austin D. Killing them Softly: Neuroscience Reveals how brain cells die from law school stress and how neural self-hacking can optimize cognitive performance. Loyola Law Rev. 2013;59(4):791-859).
- Erickson K, Leckie R, Weinstein A. Physical activity, fitness, and gray matter volume. Neurobiology of Aging [Internet]. 2014[cited 2015 Feb 20];35 Suppl 2:S20-28. Available from: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.neurobiolaging.2014.03.034