A little caffeine may give your memory a jump-start, according to a new study published in the scientific journal Nature Neuroscience. Researchers found that giving people caffeine after they memorized a series of pictures significantly increased their ability to recall subtler details than people who had only received placebo pills.
However, don’t overdo it, researchers say. A 200-milligram dose of caffeine — about the equivalent of a large cup of coffee — was the only amount that helped people better recall the pictures. Any more caffeine than that actually could be a distraction from memory and make people more jittery and agitated.