Thursday 2 June 2022 07:10 PM Children who attend schools with more traffic noise have worse memory, study ... trends now
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It's a widespread problem at schools in cities around the world, and now a new study has warned that noise pollution can affect children's memory.
Researchers from the Barcelona Institute for Global Health studied children attending 38 schools in Barcelona.
They found that children at schools with higher traffic noise had slower cognitive development.
'Our study supports the hypothesis that childhood is a vulnerable period during which external stimuli such as noise can affect the rapid process of cognitive development that takes place before adolescence,' said Jordi Sunyer, an author of the study.
It's a widespread problem at schools in cities around the world, and now a new study has warned that noise pollution can affect children's memory (stock image)
In the study, the researchers studied 2,680 children aged 7-10, who attended 38 schools across Barcelona.
To assess the possible impact of traffic noise on cognitive development, the researchers assessed the children's attention and working memory.
Over a 12-month period, the children completed cognitive tests four times.
Noise measurements were also collected over the same period from the schools' playgrounds and classrooms.
An analysis of the results revealed that the progression of working memory and attention was slower in students attending schools with higher levels of traffic noise.
For example, a 5 decibel increase in outdoor noise levels resulted in working memory development that was 11.5
