ScienceDaily: Children who attend schools with more traffic noise show slower cognitive development
“Road traffic noise is a widespread problem in cities whose impact on children's health remains poorly understood. A new study conducted at 38 schools in Barcelona suggests that traffic noise at schools has a detrimental effect on the development of working memory and attention in primary-school students. The findings of this study, led by the Barcelona Institute for Global Health (ISGlobal), a centre supported by the "la Caixa" Foundation, have been published in PLoS Medicine.
The study, which forms part of the BREATHE project and was led by researchers Maria Foraster and Jordi Sunyer, included 2,680 children between 7 and 10 years of age. In order to assess the possible impact of traffic noise on cognitive development, the researchers focused on two abilities that develop rapidly during preadolescence and are essential for learning and school attainment: attention and working memory.
Attention includes processes such as selectively attending to specific stimuli or focusing on a specific task for a prolonged period of time. Working memory is the system that allows us to hold information in the mind and manipulate it over a short period of time. When we need to continuously and effectively process information stored in the working memory, we use what is known as complex working memory.
The field work for the study was carried out over a 12-month period in 2012 and 2013, during which participants completed the cognitive tests four times. The aim of these tests was not only to assess working memory and attention, but also to study their evolution over time. Over the same period, noise measurements were taken in front of the 38 participating schools, as well as in the playgrounds and inside classrooms.
On completion of the yearlong study period, the findings showed that the progression of working memory, complex working memory and attention was slower in students attending schools with higher levels of traffic noise. By way of example, a 5 dB increase in outdoor noise levels resulted in working memory development that was 11.4% slower than average and complex working memory development that was 23.5% slower than average. Similarly, exposure to an additional 5 dB of outdoor traffic noise resulted in attention capacity development that was 4.8% slower than average.”
Full article is here!
Noise pollution is definitely a detrimental side effect of living near crowded areas. What are some ways noise pollution has affected you?
#Pollution #Noises #Health
@sunnyWriting4806 Interesting read. I'm very sensitive to noise so it's difficult for me to concentrate when the environment is particularly noisy.
@comfortableNight4463
The same for me! I am not surprised that a distraction like this can slow cognitive development in children. Especially taking into account that children are more easily distracted in general.
@globalBraid3744
That's a great point you bring up! Noise pollution can easily up distractibility in a classroom setting or even at home, when children are trying to do homework.
@comfortableNight4463
Same here! I think it's also probably due to the fact that noisy environments also lead to lack of sleep which can further foster unhealthy sleep habits. This in turn can have its whole host of negative effects down the line.
