Air Pollution and its Link with Learning
Recent research by the University of Manchester in the UK and the two charities - Global Action Plan and the Phillips Foundation - has found that cutting air pollution levels by twenty per cent could improve children's "ability to learn" by one month each year.
According to their modelling such a cut could improve the development of a child's working memory by six per cent - the equivalent of four weeks extra learning time per year. This could mean that across a young person's entire time at school it could result in an improvement of more than a year
More on this research
The researchers used some two thousand schools and day cares that were close to roads with air pollution above the baseline level of nitrogen dioxide in their study. They concluded that in those schools and nurseries had some half a million children who were exposed to sufficient levels of pollution that would affect their working memory.
Professor Martle van Tongeren of Manchester University added: "Pollution of indoor and outdoor air affects the health of our children. In addition, the available evidence indicates that it affects their cognitive development which may affect educational attainment. Improving air quality in and around schools will benefit children's health and educational development - and should be a priority for government, local authorities and schools."
Chris Large, Co-Chief Executive at Global Action Plan said: "Given lockdown restrictions have already impeded learning time, we must give all children a fighting chance, especially those in pollution hotspots."
More on air pollution itself and how it affects children
Children face special risks from air pollution (a) because their lungs are growing and (b) because they are so active and breathe in a great deal of air.
Just like their arms and legs, the largest portion of a child’s lungs will grow long after he or she is born with eighty percent of the lungs tiny air sacs developing after birth. Those sacs, called the alveoli, are where the life-sustaining transfer of oxygen to the blood takes place. The lungs and their alveoli aren’t fully grown until children become adults.
Three things to be aware of are (a) the body’s defences helping to fight off infections are still developing; (2) children are more prone to respiratory infections than adults, increasing their susceptibility to air pollution; (3) as children often don’t behave like adults, meaning their behavior can affect their vulnerability.
The Southern California Children’s Health study looked at the long-term effects of air pollution on children and teenagers. When they followed 1,759 children (between the ages of 10 and 18) from 1993 to 2001, researchers found that those who grew up in more polluted areas face the increased risk of having reduced lung growth meaning that they might never recover to their full capacity. They found that the average drop in lung function was similar to the impact of growing up in a home with parents who smoked.
Air pollution can even affect children before they are born
Several studies have found a link between air pollution and the harm it can cause to babies in the womb. A large study in California found that higher particle pollution levels increased the risk of preterm birth.
Written by Jane Chitty
Jane writes for Healing Natural Oils, a producer and retailer of high-quality, all-natural treatments for a variety of conditions as well as a range of beauty products. Apart from writing about those various conditions, she also covers general health, environmental and other subjects of interest. She has lived in Kenya as well as Cape Town, South Africa and spent time in San Diego, USA. She now lives in Somerset, England with regular visits from her far-flung children and grandchildren. She is a keen gardener and enjoys growing fresh fruit and vegetables with her husband on their joint allotment. As a result, there is something available to use in the kitchen virtually all year round. Her regular posts can be found on our blog.