Poverty's Effects on the Brain by Monika Lapinsky

Monika Lapinski

Poverty. How does one even describe poverty? Is it solely in the mind or is it a body condition as well? Many believe its related to money but poverty is not only affected by money problems.  No motivation to succeed, lack of work ethic, and lack of values are some mental aspects that also influence a person staying in poverty.  This made me wonder how does a huge thing like poverty affect the mind? Eric Jensen, author of The Effects of Poverty on the Brain, states that “brains can and do change every day”. Children growing up in poverty accommodate to their surroundings just like how “our neurons are designed by nature to reflect their environment.” Their brains develop differently than a child in a middle class home. Many children living in poverty are exposed to toxins, chronic stress, impaired emotional-social relationships and below standard cognitive skills and each of those factors have a different effect on the brain. In an article written by Bryce Convert he states, “that living in poverty consumes so much mental energy… which leaves low income people more susceptible to bad decisions”. Each day people in poverty are faced with the challenge of surviving with a low mental capacity. In the same article by Convert it stated “poverty has negative impacts such as stress which impairs a children’s brain” backing up exactly what Eric Jensen has said. All the health issues are purely caused by stress from poverty in the Washington Post it states that “research is providing what could be crucial clues to explain how childhood poverty translate this into dimmer chances of success.” Whether it is the stress of moving around a lot, the toxicity around them or even have families that impair their cognitive skills by not communicating with the child, each of these factors dims the success a child in poverty can achieve. According to the Washington Post’s article, Research Links Poor Children's Stress and Brain Impairment, “Chronic stress from growing up poor appears to have a direct impact on the brain, leaving children with impairment in at least one key area -- working memory.” The one major thing anyone needs in life is a working memory especially in education. It helps us retain information about certain skills we need to use to survive in society as much as we need to survive in this world. In Bryce Convert’s article he has a quote from a Harvard economist Sandhil Mullainathan stating “Poverty is the equivalent of pulling an all-nighter. Picture yourself after an all-nighter. Being poor is like that every day.” I believe that this is an accurate description because if you have ever pulled an all nighter you know the fatigue you feel the next day, the stress of just trying to get through the day and the feeling of disorientation and not being able to focus. That is what people that go through poverty feel every day and it truly saddens me to think that because of all this stress and the other developmental factors some kids that didn’t choose this life to begin with go through the struggle of trying to surviving every day. 

Work Cited:
1.Convert, Bryce. "Poverty Has Same Effect On The Brain As Constantly Pulling All Nighters." Think Progress. Think Progress, 30 Aug. 2013. Web. 15 Nov. 2014. <http://thinkprogress.org/economy/2013/08/30/2555601/living-poverty-effect-brain-constantly-pulling-nighters/>.

2.Stein, Rob. "Research Links Poor Children's Stress and Brain Impairment."Washington Post. The Washington Post, 06 Apr. 2009. Web. 15 Nov. 2014. <http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/04/05/AR2009040501719_2.html>.
3. Jensen, Eric. The Effects of Poverty on the Brain. N.p.: Http://thesciencenetwork.org/docs/BrainsRUs/Effetcs%20of%20Poverty_Jensen.pdf, n.d. PDF.