Impact of Stress and Anxiety on Cognitive Performance

Anxiety and stress are common emotions that anyone may experience throughout their lives. These feelings typically diminish quickly once the underlying trigger is addressed. However, they can also manifest as feeling of fear, worry, and unease without specific or immediate reason. On a cognitive level, stress and anxiety can negatively impact attention, memory, decision-making, and problem-solving skills. Furthermore, anxiety-induced rumination and worry occupy working memory resources. Although mild stress can occasionally be helpful, increased and prolonged stress and anxiety typically negatively affect cognitive functioning by interfering with neural processes and diverting cognitive resources.