Effects of Medhya Rasayana and Yogic practices in improvement of short-term memory among school-going children

Abstract

Excellent memory, extraordinary intelligence, great academic achievement, and successful career are the dreams of every individual in this era of competition and professionalism. A good memory power acts as a catalyst in all walks of life, be it academic success or maintenance of personal relationships. It is observed that an average man uses only 10% of his natural memory. Remaining 90% is left unused in a haphazard manner. As per the American psychologist Carl Emil Seashore, if one is alert and makes systematic attempts to awaken and use the natural memory properly, his/her natural memory would be activated creatively and would offer benefits of higher order. A comparative study was conducted comprising 90 subjects to know the efficacy of Medhya Rasayana and Yogic practices in short-term memory of school-going children. The study was conducted over a period of 3 months. It was an open, prospective, and randomized clinical study. The subjects of group A formed the control group and they were observed silently for 3 months without any intervention. The subjects in group B were administered with Choorna (powder) of four Medhya Rasayanas, Mandukaparni (Centella asiatica Linn.), Yashtimadhu (Glycyrrhiza glabra Linn.), Guduchi [Tinospora cordifolia (Willd.) Miers ex Hook. f. and Thoms.], and Sankhapushpi (Convolvulus pluricaulis Choisy), at a dose of 2 g twice daily with milk. Subjects belonging to group C were advocated regular Yogic practices of Asanas, Pranayama, and Dhyana. Further study revealed that among the three groups, group B treated with Medhya Rasayana showed highly significant and most effective changes with respect to objective parameters in the tests, i.e. (1) short-term memory test pictures and (2) serial recall effects test using memory scope. Among the three groups, group C treated with Yogic practices showed highly significant and most effective changes with respect to subjective and objective parameters in mini mental status scale i.e. test 3. The treatment is cost effective and devoid of side effects, which can be beneficial for the community. Mean increase after first follow-up in group B was higher as compared to group C. This shows that Medhya Rasayanas are quick in action and bring about improvement in memory faster when compared with Yogic practices. So, on the whole, group B can be considered to be the most efficient among the three groups.