Stress man­age­ment is among the pil­lars of brain health main­te­nance. High and sus­tained lev­els of stress can indeed dam­age neu­rons, espe­cially in areas of the brain respon­si­ble for learn­ing and memory.

What about the effect of stress on the devel­op­ing brains of infants and chil­dren? What are the cog­ni­tive con­se­quences? How can these be pre­vented? This inter­est­ing arti­cle reports find­ings from both ani­mal and human research answer­ing these questions:

Brain devel­op­ment goes through sen­si­tive peri­ods dur­ing which stres­sors and nur­tur­ing expe­ri­ences can have last­ing effects

Chaos in the home and incon­sis­tent par­ent­ing impairs devel­op­ment of self reg­u­la­tory behav­iors, which can lead to sub­stance abuse, ear­lier onset of sex­ual activ­ity, bad deci­sion mak­ing and poor mood control.

… con­sis­tency as well as qual­ity of parental care is impor­tant for suc­cess­ful cog­ni­tive and social devel­op­ment and that expo­sure to nov­elty against a back­drop of sta­ble mater­nal care is key

Related posts:

• Top 10 Q&A about Child’s Brain Development
• Stress man­age­ment: exer­cise, relax, social­ize, empower, biofeedback

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