COVID-19, the lockdowns, and other associated struggles have had a significant effect on society and on people’s sense of safety and security.
In teens, researchers can see visible changes in brain activity that demonstrate their brains have aged more than average for the period, and it’s not in a good way.
However, there is still hope that the brain’s plasticity (its ability to change) will allow kids to recover from the damage.
This Unusual Maturation Of The Brain Puts Teens At Risk
When dealing with teens and preteens, the word “mature” and all its derivations can be a bit exciting, but in this case, it doesn’t refer to the ability to do their own laundry and make responsible choices.
Instead, it means that the physical structure of the brain has aged prematurely, and it can raise the risk of behavioral and mental health disorders. The National Academy of Sciences explains:
“Since accelerated brain maturation has been associated with increased risk for the development of neuropsychiatric and behavioral disorders, these findings highlight the importance of providing ongoing monitoring and support to individuals who were adolescents during the COVID-19 pandemic.”
Cortical Thinning Is Associated With Brain Aging
The brain’s outer layer, the cerebral cortex, is measured in thickness, decreasing as the brain ages. It can be seen on an MRI, so researchers compared the cortical thickness of adolescents pre-COVID to MRIs taken after the pandemic. Here’s what they found:
“The analysis revealed accelerated cortical thinning in the post-COVID brain, which was more widespread throughout the brain and greater in magnitude in females than in males. When measured in terms of equivalent years of development, the mean acceleration was found to be 4.2 y in females and 1.4 y in males.”
In other words, the average teen girl’s brain has suffered an extra 4+ years of aging, while the average teen boy’s brain has suffered about an extra 1.5 years.
What Causes This Unusual Brain Aging?
Our best understanding is that this is caused mainly by the reduced social interaction during the pandemic, which seems to have affected girls more than boys. The stress of living through a global pandemic is also considered a factor, according to a Seattle Times review. The review also specifically noted that parents caught up in their own fears and worries (care for elderly or sick parents, job loss or changes, childcare, etc.) may not have been as available to allay their children’s fears.
Teachers report seeing greater social struggles in teens since schools reopened, and they’re encouraging parents to foster the friendships that help their children rebuild those skills.
However, researchers say they can’t pinpoint the exact causes of these changes so far. They’re building hypotheses based on what is known, and more information could become available as studies continue.
What Should We Be Doing To Help Our Teens?
Dr. Elizabeth Ortiz-Schwartz, a child psychiatrist and fellow at the American Psychiatric Association, says that these changes reflect what researchers already know about brain changes after trauma, but that she has hope for these teens. She told Fortune:
“Our teenagers, especially our younger teenagers, need to feel that they are safe in the world. Post-pandemic, we need to continue to do the best that we can to create environments where [teens] feel supported, and that includes things like targeting and addressing bullying, targeting and understanding the effects of social media for especially the younger kids, and trying to put mental health support in schools. Families need a lot of interventions and support so that they can optimize their children’s mental health so that they can be supported.”
She says this kind of change isn’t inherently negative, but that it is typically seen in stressful situations like war and famine, where the brain directs more of its energy into parts like the amygdala, which are responsible for avoiding danger, and less to parts like the cerebral cortex, involved with focus and attention.
What Else Might Help ‘Heal’ These Aged Brains?
While it’s not clear that these changes are reversible, Dr. Ortiz-Schwartz says we can do things to help our kids build (or re-build) resilience and fight chronic stress.
Most of her recommendations center around teaching kids not to be avoidant and to teach them how to manage their fears. She suggests meditation, good sleep practices, and mindful efforts to limit screen time and social media exposure.
She says that parents should regularly check in with their teens, asking them about their stress levels and emotional functioning.
As always, if your child is struggling and needs additional support, you can speak to their pediatrician or your family doctor for a referral for mental health care.
