Science Says the Time of the Day May Affect Your Memory

Have you tried your hardest to remember something only to fail and then remember it another time of the day? You may have a gene that influencers memory recall at different times of the day, according to a new study.

"We may have identified the first gene in mice specific to memory retrieval," said Professor Satoshi Kida from the University of Tokyo Department of Applied Biological Chemistry. Kida and his team have studied mice with and without BMAL1, a protein that "regulates the expression of many other genes." Basically, having low BMAL1 levels causes mice to not recall something they learned and know.

Even more interesting is that mice had low BMAL1 levels before they normally woke up which is evidence that circadian clocks are regulating memory recall.

The study isn't just all about plain forgetting simple things, however. Researchers are looking for a link on the study and more advanced memory-related diseases. "If we can identify ways to boost memory retrieval through this BMAL1 pathway, then we can think about applications to human diseases of memory deficit, like dementia and Alzheimer's disease," said Kida.

So, if you can't remember something maybe just give it time.