By Betsy Hill and Roger Stark
Editor’s Note: This is part one in a three-part series
Wellbeing at the Center of Education
“Wellbeing” is the term on everyone’s lips—and with good reason. It is the foundational state that supports many desirable outcomes: happiness, health, productivity, gratitude, contentment, enjoyment, and optimism. Yet wellbeing remains elusive for both students and teachers. Recent trends in mental health make addressing wellbeing urgent for schools, families, and communities.
Reports show a significant rise in teenage mental-health challenges. For example, an analysis in The Atlantic summarized CDC findings showing a jump in the share of high-school students reporting persistent feelings of sadness or hopelessness—from roughly a quarter in 2009 to nearly half by 2021. These trends were uneven across groups: during the COVID-19 pandemic, many more girls than boys seriously contemplated suicide, and LGBTQ youth reported higher rates of suicidal thinking compared with their heterosexual peers.
Teachers are also struggling. Surveys and research briefs indicate unprecedented levels of work-related stress, anxiety, and emotional exhaustion among educators. In some studies, a sizeable portion of teachers expressed uncertainty about returning to the classroom, and many more reported that they were considering leaving the profession. Stress undermines teacher effectiveness and contributes to workforce instability. At the same time, teachers often have less access than students to mental health resources, even when they report isolation and depression.
The C-Factor: How Mental Health Affects Cognition
As schools reopen and routines resume, it can be tempting to assume the worst is behind us. But the longer-term cognitive impacts of stress and mental distress remain significant. Concerns about the COVID-related learning gap add further pressure on educators and learners alike.
Recent research highlights a broad connection between mental health problems and diminished cognitive function. A large meta-analysis published in Clinical Psychology Review examined nearly 100 studies and data from over 200,000 individuals across many mental health conditions. The research team coined the term “C-Factor” to describe the consistent association between poorer mental health and reduced cognitive performance—manifesting as lower scores on cognitive tests or declines in attention, memory, and executive functioning.
The C-Factor appears even when symptoms are not severe enough to warrant a clinical diagnosis. Many people experience depressive or anxious symptoms that nonetheless carry cognitive consequences. While not every individual with these symptoms will meet diagnostic criteria for a mental disorder, a substantial share will experience cognitive impacts at some point in their lives. The study makes clear that cognitive dysfunction is a widespread, often overlooked consequence of mental health challenges.
Addressing the C-Factor Through Cognitive Strengthening
Although the meta-analysis did not evaluate interventions, growing evidence suggests that targeted cognitive training can improve attention, working memory, executive functions, and related skills. In children diagnosed with ADHD, for instance, cognitive training programs have helped improve attention and memory, supporting better academic performance and everyday functioning. While cognitive training is not a cure for underlying mental illnesses, strengthening cognitive capacity often reduces stress by increasing learners’ confidence, resilience, and ability to tackle new challenges.
Experts advocating for brain health emphasize that interventions designed to develop higher-order cognitive processes can promote emotional resilience and mitigate the negative effects of environmental stressors. When schools implement well-designed brain fitness and cognitive literacy interventions, students can develop the attention and self-regulation skills that support learning and wellbeing. That in turn can help close achievement gaps and improve long-term outcomes.
Teacher Stress, Classroom Challenges, and the C-Factor
A recent international survey of teachers and school leaders identified the top sources of professional stress—three of which have clear connections to cognitive skills and the C-Factor:
- Accountability for student achievement. Many teachers cite being held responsible for student outcomes as a leading stressor. Student achievement is heavily influenced by learners’ cognitive skills—factors that are often beyond a teacher’s immediate control.
- Classroom discipline. Managing student behavior was another common source of stress. Executive functions—cognitive skills that support focus, behavioral control, and adaptability—are central to both classroom behavior and academic learning. Weaknesses in these areas contribute to classroom disruption and learning difficulties.
- Modifying lessons for students with special needs. Differentiating instruction for diverse learners is a demanding task. For many students with special needs, cognitive challenges are at the core of their learning differences. Teachers often lack detailed information about how each student learns best, which makes lesson modification feel like guesswork rather than a targeted instructional approach.
Why This Matters
Mental disorders and subclinical symptoms have become more common in recent decades, particularly among adolescents and young adults. Because poorer mental health is linked to at least some degree of cognitive dysfunction, the prevalence of cognitive difficulties is likely higher than previously recognized. This reality poses a major obstacle to efforts to close learning gaps, reduce stress in schools, and improve outcomes for historically underserved student populations.
Recognizing the potential to improve cognitive functioning is therefore essential. Strengthening cognitive skills—through comprehensive, integrated training that follows neuroscience principles—can increase learners’ confidence, reduce stress, and enhance readiness to learn. While such interventions are not a substitute for clinical mental health care, they can form an important component of a multi-faceted strategy to support wellbeing, academic progress, and teacher effectiveness.
The Next Installment
Coming in Part 2: We will examine cognitive skills training more closely—how it can reduce mental distress and how evidence-based approaches can help both teachers and students confront the growing mental health challenges in schools. While cognitive training is not typically a cure for clinical diagnoses, its broad wellness benefits can help alleviate stress and overwhelm.
About the Authors
Betsy Hill is President of BrainWare Learning Company, a company focused on building learning capacity through the practical application of neuroscience. She is an experienced educator who has studied the connection between neuroscience and education. She has served on academic boards and teaches strategic thinking in an MBA program, and she holds a Master of Arts in Teaching and an MBA.
Roger Stark is Co-founder and CEO of BrainWare Learning Company. He has led efforts to develop comprehensive cognitive literacy training and assessment tools. His work centers on making effective cognitive training accessible and grounded in decades of clinical collaboration and research.
This article was originally published by The Learning Counsel, a research institute and news media hub focused on the shift in education toward digital curriculum.