Chronic stress inhibits neurogenesis in the hippocampus. So if you’re experiencing unrelenting, unmanaged stress, you’ll have a smaller hippocampus, which means fewer neurons available to consolidate memories, which means your ability to create new memories will be impaired. Hippocampal neurons under continual exposure to stress and cortisol also seem to be more vulnerable to damage by other insults, such as a stroke or Alzheimer’s disease.
