The Impact of Nutrition and Sleep Upon the Learning Process
The effects of nutrition can begin before birth, with the nutrition of the mother. Under nutrition can result in negative effects of the development of the brain that can become permanent and irreversible. One example is the lack of iron, which is a necessary part of the brain’s tissue. When iron deficiency is present nerve impulses tend to move slower. “Iron deficiency…is associated with behavior changes and delayed psychomotor development” (Nutrition and Cognitive Development, 2001), as well as decrease attention span, irritability, fatigue, and difficultly with concentration. “ Anemia is one of the most prevalent nutritional disorders in the world, affecting nearly one quarter of all low-income children in the United States”(Rosenberg,1998). Iron deficiently anemia effects many young children in our country and has been linked to a child’s ability to learn by influencing attention span and memory. Besides iron, there can be iodine deficiently as well that can occur during the early years of a child. Reduced cognition and achievement in school can be associated with iodine deficiency. Researchers have also proven a decrease in protein intake with in diets can have an effect on achievement scores. Overall, under nutrition can results in a decrease of activity, social interaction, curiosity and cognitive functioning. This is proof of how the prenatal period of a child is the most important. “Recent evidence indicates that 15 percent of very low birth weight children and nearly 5 percent of low birth weight children require special education, compared to 4.3 percent of children born at normal birth weight”(Children’s Nutrition and Learning, 1994). Infants that are born with a decrease in normal weight can show impairment in hearing, vision, or learning problems that require special education services. An increase in poverty contributes to the lack of nutritional care within low birth weight children. ...