Alcohol may improve memory in social drinkers

While many people drink in the hope of drowning out unwanted memories, a surprising new study suggests this may not be an effective strategy. The study suggests that drinking alcohol improves your memory for information learned before the drinking episode began. While the reason for this remains unclear, researchers suggest that alcohol may block the learning of new information, giving the brain more resources to lay down recently learned information into long-term memory. While many people drink in the hopes of drowning out unwanted memories, a surprising new study suggests this may not be an effective strategy. The study looked at the effects of drinking alcohol in a natural setting on memory.