Science says: a heatwave makes us dumber
This week, the thermometer easily touches thirty degrees. Some people quickly strip off all their clothes and bask in the heat, while others lock themselves away and huddle next to the air conditioning. Whoever you are and whatever you do, one thing is a fact: a heatwave makes us all a little dumber.
I sometimes also notice that my brain doesn't work optimally when it's blood-boiling hot (these rather strange things I do). It's just a bit less Einstein when the clock strikes, and the reaction speed is rather sluggish. Fortunately, research shows that this is true and that it's not just me. We not only become a little dumber from the heat, we get tired faster and are just a tiny bit more aggressive than usual. Well, how nice.
Leave it to Harvard to figure out how it works. Smart folks there, they probably didn't study this during a heatwave. Nice indeed, even if there was an air conditioner involved. It turns out that our brains work a whopping 13 percent slower when the mercury rises outside. Scientists don't fully know why yet, but it could be related to reduced blood flow to the brain. The breakdown of proteins also happens faster when it's warm, which apparently has a direct effect on our intelligence. Some students were locked in a sweltering room, while others got to work with the cooling company of air conditioning. Result: people are smarter when the temperature is lower. The hotter it gets, the dumber we become.
By the way, it's extra caution if you live in a brick building, which I believe applies to almost everyone in the Netherlands. The warm bricks still emit heat at night, causing the effect to carry over into your sleep and making it all a bit worse. So set up that tent in the garden this week, because you certainly don't want it to keep affecting you at night and dulling you down.
Tip for those working from home: keep a tropical schedule. Now that you're not tied to office hours, starting early is a great option, just like grabbing an extra hour late in the evening. If you need an argument for that: you really are smarter at those times.
A girl laughing while holding a cup with a building in the background This is the best tip against chafing thighs, thank me later.
P.S.: Complaining about the heat is allowed by the way.
Source: AD.nl
