I am not feeling quite as sharp today as usual, because my beloved cat woke me up too early this morning. I have personally found that adequate sleep is crucial for my memory. I believe that sleep is an important aspect of intellectual performance for most people, but sufficient rest is not always enough by itself, especially as we get older. When I was preparing for my board exams, the classmate I was studying with used phosphatidyl serine. She said it made her feel like a genius. I had known about phosphatidyl serine for memory support, but her experience made me want to better understand its mechanism for helping our brains.
Phosphatidyl serine has been examined in over 20 studies with people and animals. These studies have demonstrated improvements in memory, learning, concentration, and mood especially in people with age-related cognitive decline. These benefits are partially due to the ability of phosphatidyl serine to increase our production and release of acetylcholine, one of our main memory neurotransmitters. Phosphatidyl serine is also one of the phospholipids that make up our cell membranes and is therefore important for cellular function and cell-to-cell communication. It is also used by are cells to make another phospholipids that is vital to the membrane integrity of our mitochondria, the energy producing center in our cells. Studies done with rats have shown improvement in performance on maze tests and reduction in age-related brain changes. Particularly, phosphatidyl serine helped conserve normal brain cell density, which often decreases as we age. Based on all of the impressive research, phosphatidyl serine is worth our consideration to help us stay sharp.
Dr. Laurell Matthews, ND 