Could the impact of polluted air on children's brain development be one of the reasons why today's children are losing motivation to learn?

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eurekin a day ago | parent | next [-]

I'm personally betting, that they simply have easier access to more information, comparing to me at the same age.

When I started Uni, the "A diploma will guarantee you great job opportunities" mantra was unshakeable.

Now I think, the pendulum swung so hard in the other direction, that kids of same age have tons of refuttals at their disposal. It must take a lot more work, from parents, to instill and motivate what was once seen as a good career starter.

	▲	wtbdbrrr a day ago \| parent [-]
		It's not enough to explain the problem, IMO. And it's a problem that is worse in some population segments than others. Even in poor countries. The mechanisms that separate more from less affected segments go back one and more generations, which is why it's not harder for parents to keep their kids on track despite "more stuff" but a lot of parents have it harder because their own brains/organisms are more affected than those of others. And "some take more care of themselves than others" loops right back into my argument, which is so damn annoying. It's taken me a great big freaking while to "rewire what fires together", including motivation and attention and I've looked at so many angles, while so many more and important ones require a bio-chem lab, an fMRI and PhD level knowledge in Molecular Bio-Tech. Anyone wanna sponsor some of it :D? I'm serious, but among the elderly (37).

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ZeroGravitas a day ago | parent | prev | next [-]

In developed nations we are past the peak of air pollution so kids are breathing cleaner air:

https://www.sustainabilitybynumbers.com/p/peak-pollution

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a day ago | parent | prev | next [-]

[deleted]

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wtbdbrrr a day ago | parent | prev [-]

look at any connections to the thyroid gland, down and upstream.

Poor breathing = less NO, less oxygen → potential stress on thyroid metabolism (and almost any other metabolism).

NO is nitric oxide: the paranasal sinuses are a major source of NO gas.

And NO gas has antimicrobial effects (helps sterilize inhaled air), acts as a vasodilator (helps regulate blood flow and oxygen delivery), and enhances oxygen uptake in the lungs.

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