Street noise makes young people dumber, new research finds

According to a new Swiss study, traffic noise leads to memory and concentration problems in young people. The reason for this, according to the researchers, is probably poorer sleep.

According to a statement from the Swiss National Science Foundation (SNSF) on Thursday, young people whose bedrooms face the traffic are particularly affected. The results were recently published in the journal “Environmental Research”.

To investigate the effects of permanent traffic noise, the scientists at the Tropical and Public Health Institute in Basel observed 882 young people between the ages of 10 and 17 for a year. The young people were exposed to different levels of stress from road traffic at home. At the beginning and end of this period, they assessed the subjects’ cognitive abilities using questionnaires and tests.

An increase of the average road noise by 10 decibels, or a doubling of the noise, reduced the so-called figurative memory by 0.27 points. This is the brain area that processes spatial information, for example when reading road maps. At the same time, the ability to concentrate for a long time decreased by 0.13 points.

The decrease in the ability to concentrate therefore corresponds to the observed difference between two school levels. For example, the difference between students in high school A and high school B. The performance decline in figurative memory during the study corresponds to one third of the difference between two school levels.

However, the scientists acknowledged that the effects found in this study are mild and have yet to be confirmed. However, in a previous study in São Paulo (Brazil) with younger children exposed to higher noise levels, the scientist had already found a strong influence of road traffic on cognitive skills.

(saw/sda)