HEALTH TIPS: HOW POVERTY REDUCES BRAIN POWER.
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Studies have presents a unique perspective regarding the
causes of persistent poverty. Researchers suggest that being poor may keep a
person from concentrating on the very avenues that would lead them out of
poverty.
A person’s cognitive function is diminished by the constant
and all-consuming effort of coping with the immediate effects of having little
money, such as scrounging to pay bills and cut costs.
In a series of experiments, the researchers found that
pressing financial concerns had an immediate impact on the ability of
low-income individuals to perform on common cognitive and logic tests. On average,
a person preoccupied with money problems exhibited a drop in cognitive function
similar to a 13-point dip in IQ, or the loss of an entire night’s sleep.
But when their concerns were benign, low-income individuals
performed competently, at a similar level to people who were fell off. Previous
views of poverty have blamed poverty on personal failings, or an environment
that is not conducive to success.
Stress itself doesn’t predict that people can’t perform
well, they do better up to a point and also the fallout of neglecting other
areas of life may loom larger for a person. Late fees tacked on a forgotten
payment, a job lost because of poor time-management, these make a tight money
situation worse. And as people get poorer they tend to make difficult and often
costly decisions that further perpetuate their hardship.
If you live in poverty, you’re more error prone and errors
cost you more dearly. And it’s hard to find a way out.
