Noise May Affect Kids' Reading, Memory
Noise May Affect Kids' Reading, Memory
Reading Comprehension May Suffer in Kids Near Noisy Airports
June 2, 2005 -- The frequent whine of airplane engines or the roar of road traffic could affect children's reading comprehension and memory, new research shows.
The researchers aren't talking about the occasional flyover or traffic jam. Instead, they focused on noise around busy Dutch, British, and Spanish airports. Every day, jets thunder into the skies and swoop down onto those runways. Meanwhile, cars, cabs, and buses whisk people to and from the airports.
University of London professor Stephen Stansfield, PhD, and colleagues studied the effects of all that noise on kids at nearby schools. The study appears in The Lancet.
"Our findings indicate that a chronic environmental stressor -- aircraft noise -- could impair cognitive development in children, specifically reading comprehension," they write. "Schools exposed to high levels of aircraft noise are not healthy educational environments."
The researchers got decibel readings on airplane and road traffic noise. They also gave reading and memory tests to more than 2,800 children aged 9-10. The kids also filled out questionnaires about their health, and their parents took the same questionnaires.
After collecting the data, the researchers showed that aircraft noise impaired reading comprehension and memory.
The reasons why aren't clear. The researchers say they adjusted for social and economic factors.
It's possible that teacher frustration, interrupted lessons, or "learned helplessness" on the part of the students could be involved, the study notes.
Road traffic noise was actually linked with better scores on a memory test. That was a surprise and deserves more attention, say Stansfield and colleagues.
Road traffic noise didn't appear to affect reading. That contradicts findings from other studies, say the researchers. However, the highest levels of road noise they detected were lower than those from past research.
In addition, no links were seen between aircraft or road noise and self-reported health or mental health. Other studies have shown effects of aircraft noise on blood pressure, say the researchers.
"Aircraft noise, because of its intensity, the location of the source, and its variability and unpredictability, is likely to have a greater effect on children's reading that road traffic noise, which might be of a more constant intensity," they write.
Noise May Affect Kids' Reading, Memory
Reading Comprehension May Suffer in Kids Near Noisy Airports
June 2, 2005 -- The frequent whine of airplane engines or the roar of road traffic could affect children's reading comprehension and memory, new research shows.
The researchers aren't talking about the occasional flyover or traffic jam. Instead, they focused on noise around busy Dutch, British, and Spanish airports. Every day, jets thunder into the skies and swoop down onto those runways. Meanwhile, cars, cabs, and buses whisk people to and from the airports.
University of London professor Stephen Stansfield, PhD, and colleagues studied the effects of all that noise on kids at nearby schools. The study appears in The Lancet.
"Our findings indicate that a chronic environmental stressor -- aircraft noise -- could impair cognitive development in children, specifically reading comprehension," they write. "Schools exposed to high levels of aircraft noise are not healthy educational environments."
Noisy Airplanes, Worse Reading?
The researchers got decibel readings on airplane and road traffic noise. They also gave reading and memory tests to more than 2,800 children aged 9-10. The kids also filled out questionnaires about their health, and their parents took the same questionnaires.
After collecting the data, the researchers showed that aircraft noise impaired reading comprehension and memory.
The reasons why aren't clear. The researchers say they adjusted for social and economic factors.
It's possible that teacher frustration, interrupted lessons, or "learned helplessness" on the part of the students could be involved, the study notes.
Surprising Findings From Road Traffic
Road traffic noise was actually linked with better scores on a memory test. That was a surprise and deserves more attention, say Stansfield and colleagues.
Road traffic noise didn't appear to affect reading. That contradicts findings from other studies, say the researchers. However, the highest levels of road noise they detected were lower than those from past research.
In addition, no links were seen between aircraft or road noise and self-reported health or mental health. Other studies have shown effects of aircraft noise on blood pressure, say the researchers.
"Aircraft noise, because of its intensity, the location of the source, and its variability and unpredictability, is likely to have a greater effect on children's reading that road traffic noise, which might be of a more constant intensity," they write.
