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If you have ever been in extreme heat and are feeling lethargic, slow and unresponsive – almost as if your brain had melted – you are not alone.
Previous laboratory research has shown that the human brain stops working normally when it is exposed to high temperatures, and now, a survey by the Harvard TH Chan School of Public Health shows that this phenomenon is true for real situations.
Their study, published in PLOS Medicine, tested changes in the cognitive performance of 44 students living in air-conditioned and non-air-conditioned dormitories in Boston in July 2016 – the most recent summer of the year. hot on the disc. Using selective treatment, working memory, and inhibitory control tests – the ability to focus on relevant stimuli in the presence of irrelevant stimuli – the authors revealed that subjects without air conditioning (CA) had a significant mental capacity scaled down.
Although this work has examined only a small group of people in one region of the world, the main author, Jose Guillermo Cedeño-Laurent and his colleagues write that the results draw attention to a point often neglected. "Most research on the effects of heat on health has been conducted in vulnerable populations, such as the elderly, which gives the impression that the general population is not threatened by the waves of heat ", Cedeño. Laurent said in a statement. "Knowing the risks for different populations is essential as in many cities, like Boston, the number of heat waves is expected to increase due to climate change."
Study data were collected for 12 consecutive days: five normal summer temperatures (15-31 ° C / 59-88 ° F) followed by five abnormally hot days (28-36 ° C / 82) -97 ° F), crowned by two days of cooling (28 ° C / 82 ° F). Daily cognitive performance was assessed by means of a Stroop word-color test and a visual addition / subtraction challenge that subjects completed on their phones after waking up. and before leaving their bedroom. To rule out other factors that could affect brain power, students had to wear biosensors to track activity and sleep, and monitors in each dormitory recorded indoor temperature, humidity, level of noise and level of carbon dioxide
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