Hygienic study of attention and memory of students

Abstract

The article presents the results of a study of some characteristics of memory and attention of 140 thirdyear students of the medical, pediatric and dental faculties of Omsk State Medical University, conducted at the beginning of hygiene classes according to the curriculum. In comparison with the norms from literary sources, the best result was noted in terms of the volume of figurative memory (99.3 % of positive results among the subjects) and attention switching (90.8 %). 2/3 of the students demonstrated good short-term and long-term memory. Half of the students (51.4 %) coped with the task of assessing the distribution of attention. Reference intervals for the indicator of attention switching T (Schulte tables), an indicator of the distribution of attention and semantic memory, were proposed, which are absent in the available literature. The worst indicators of switching attention in girls at 8:00 am compared to those in boys and girls in the daytime were established, which probably indicates a higher sensitivity of the female body to lack of sleep. A significant influence on the verbal-logical memory of the factor of the day of the school week was established (the worst indicators were on Monday and Friday, the best were in the middle of the week and on Saturday), as well as the effect of testing time on figurative and long-term memory (the best indicators were noted at 13:00). In connection with the foregoing, it is recommended to conduct memory and attention studies in the middle of the day, excluding the early morning hours, especially for girls, and also to regulate the start of classes at the university no earlier than 8:30, especially in large cities.