... but fretting about it only makes our memory worse

IT can be a real bind worrying about whether you’ve remembered to turn off the gas at home or if you’ve forgotten someone’s special birthday.

But by fretting about such matters you could be making things worse, a study suggests.

Researchers have found that certain personality traits can affect how good our memories are – with those who are anxious among the most forgetful.

A survey tested how well people recalled life events. This was then compared with the results of personality tests.

It was discovered that across all age groups, people who scored highly for openness performed better in memory tests, while those who displayed neurotic tendencies – worry, moodiness and feeling negative – were worst.

Dr Weixi Kang, who led the study at Imperial College London, said: ‘neuroticism is typically associated with more psychological distress, which may then affect the neural systems that support episodic memory.’

The findings were published in the journal Personality and Individual Differences.