Usually, students are naturally off-task than on-task, and being on-task should be taught to the students; however, some students get easily tired and lose their focus too quickly. Since Now a days, children are tempted to eat fast food from MacDonald or Hardees for example and crave it even more from the chemical endorsed in the fast food (MSG: is a chemical that tricks the mind about the taste, in addition to it is an addictive chemical used to let customers want to buy more of it.), so children prefer eating fast food instead of a healthy and balanced meal. Their blood sugar levels tend to go up and down like a roller coaster, they don't have the nutrition needed for their brains to function properly. Not to mention, DEHYDRATION!! I mean, children play at school and they lose fluids from their bodies. This really affects their performance.
Let us see how malnutrition can affect the student's performance.
1- Iron Deficiency: Iron is the atom that carries 4 oxygen molecules per Red blood cell. They provide the Oxygen throughout the body. children who have iron deficiency have poor concentration levels, due to poor circulation. In addition they are also always sleepy, and fatigued. However, this doesn't mean that the student is lazy, rather than having an unbalanced nutrition.
2- High or Low blood sugar levels: Many children tend to have an undiagnosed condition of high or low blood sugar levels. When this happens, they tend to have a brainfog and confused of what the teacher is saying. Not to mention, the sickness they feel from it as well as the anger that they experience.
3-High Copper: Having high copper levels have been associated with depression and other psychological problems. Increased copper is due to either high level of copper in food from using copper utensils and cooking pans, or it could be accumulated in the liver and the brain of the baby if the mother was consuming a high level of copper during pregnancy. High copper levels also come from low zinc or insufficiency in the adrenal glands.
4- Iodine deficiency: Iodine deficiency leads to thyroid problems such as an underactive thyroid gland, which is practically responsible for most body functions. Symptoms of an Underactive thyroid include constant fatigue, poor concentration, and drowsiness.
In conclusion, having a child who is always sleepy and tired , is often mistaken to be a lazy student and an off-task student, not taking into consideration the other factors like malnutrition and health problems. It's our job as teachers to discover the source of the problem, and not to judge the child rather than help them reach to a better version of themselves. Nutrition plays a key factor in behavior, as well as performance; therefore, awareness should be raised for students for the importance of having a healthy meal, as well as for teachers who should be aware of the possibility of reasons why the students is having problems in responding well to them and being on-task.
- Dana Molla -
