Air temperature affects the ability to think: in the cold season, the brain “wakes up”, and in the heat it becomes more difficult to think.
Imagine that on vacation you need to buy something. You go into a small shop and see the usual assortment of goods: chips, beer, chocolates… And next to the cash register is an assortment of lottery tickets. You wanted to try your luck, but which ticket to choose: the traditional “Russian Lotto” or something else?
Your decision will depend on where you are and what the temperature is outside. In the south, it will be more difficult for you to think about everything, and you will stop at the familiar name “Russian Lotto”. And, for example, at a ski resort, you will sort out different tickets with curiosity.
Research states that hot weather impairs our ability to make difficult decisions. Moreover: in such conditions, we tend not to accept them at all. Our brain, like any other internal organ, needs energy to function properly. It is produced from glucose. This is what we use when we walk, talk, breathe or do other daily physical activities. Glucose is also used in the performance of complex thought processes (decision making, suppression of emotional reactions, work on mathematical problems).
But glucose is a finite resource. It is also used to regulate body temperature. We must keep the internal temperature at a normal level if the external temperature is too high or too low. More resources are spent on cooling the body than trying to warm it. That is, less glucose remains for thought processes in the body.
The “correctors” in the room with a high temperature missed almost half of the errors. Those who were in a cool room – a quarter
Amar Cheema of the University of Virginia and Vanessa Patrick of the University of Houston became interested in this phenomenon. They looked at a year’s worth of lottery ticket sales in the St. Louis area, and then compared it to temperature fluctuations. It turned out that sales of instant lottery tickets (there are many varieties, buyers need to choose) fell by $ 594 with each warming of one degree Fahrenheit. The simple lottery ticket sales were not affected by the change in temperature.
The researchers decided to test the result in laboratory conditions, at a temperature of 19,5 and 25 ºC. This seemingly insignificant difference caused a noticeable deterioration in the cognitive functions of the participants in the experiment. They had to look for errors in the text, and the “correctors” in the warmer room missed almost half of the errors. Those who were in a cool room – only a quarter. So temperature affects even the simplest mental tasks.
In another experiment, participants were offered a choice of several mobile data plans. One of them looked profitable, but in fact turned out to be too expensive. It was he who was twice more likely to be chosen by people at warm temperatures. They preferred less complex decision making models.
The weather changes every day, even every minute, and all these changes affect our cognitive abilities.
The third study offered participants a choice between traditional and innovative products. People in a warm room lacked the cognitive resources to evaluate the properties of a new product, so they were more likely to settle on a long-familiar one (and, in fact, avoided making a decision).
However, all this does not mean that people in warm countries are bad at decision-making. The human body adapts to the climate, and if you constantly live, for example, in Africa, your brain and body get used to working effectively in such conditions. But if you went there on vacation, for a short time, then it’s another matter. What is important is the temperature deviation from the average, familiar.
Temperature fluctuations are part of our everyday life: in rooms and transport, heating is turned on at full power in winter and autumn, air conditioners work in spring and summer, but even without technical devices, the temperature in the street and at home is different. The weather changes every day, even every minute, and all these changes affect our cognitive abilities. It’s good that you now know about it!
Source: Scientific American.