Correlation of ambient air temperature and cognitive performance: A systematic review and meta-analysis

Yeganeh, Armin Jeddi; Reichard, Georg; McCoy, Andrew P.; Bulbul, Tanyel; Jazizadeh, Farrokh

doi:10.1016/j.buildenv.2018.07.002

Cited by 66 publications

(40 citation statements)

References 70 publications

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“…The study, due to its design to isolate the effects of light levels, was limited in its ability to investigate the effect of other environmental and behavioral variables such as CO 2 , VOCs, ventilation rates, excessive internet use, and recreational drug use that have been shown to influence cognitive performance or sleep [41][42][43][44][45]. However, there was enough variability in temperature between days of the study to see a statistically significant U-shaped relationship between temperature and cognition, consistent with previous research on the topic [46,47]. In addition, we are unable to determine what differences between the two conditions caused the changes in performance.…”

supporting

confidence: 69%

The Impact of Optimized Daylight and Views on the Sleep Duration and Cognitive Performance of Office Workers

Boubekri

Lee

MacNaughton

et al. 2020

IJERPH

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A growing awareness has recently emerged on the health benefits of exposure to daylight and views. Daylight exposure is linked to circadian rhythm regulation, which can have significant impacts on sleep quality and cognitive function. Views of nature have also been shown to impact emotional affect and performance. This study explores the impact of optimized daylight and views on the sleep and cognitive performance of office workers. Thirty knowledge workers spent one week working in each of two office environments with identical layouts, furnishings, and orientations; however, one was outfitted with electrochromic glass and the other with traditional blinds, producing lighting conditions of 40.6 and 316 equivalent melanopic lux, respectively. Participants in the optimized daylight and views condition slept 37 min longer as measured by wrist-worn actigraphs and scored 42% higher on cognitive simulations designed to test their higher order decision-making performance. Both sleep and cognitive function were impacted after one day in the space, yet the impacts became more significant over the course of the week. The positive effect of optimized daylight and views on cognitive function was comparable for almost all participants, while increases in sleep duration were significantly greater for those with the lowest baseline sleep duration. This study stresses the significance of designing with daylight in order to optimize the sleep quality and performance of office workers.

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supporting

confidence: 69%

The Impact of Optimized Daylight and Views on the Sleep Duration and Cognitive Performance of Office Workers

Boubekri

Lee

MacNaughton

et al. 2020

IJERPH

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“…Overall, our results suggest that gender is an important factor not only in determining the impact of temperature on comfort but also on productivity and cognitive performance. Additionally, given the lack of attention to gender in mediating the impact of temperature on performance, our results may explain in part the inconsistent results of previous studies on the relationship between temperature and cognitive performance [9–11].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 59%

Battle for the thermostat: Gender and the effect of temperature on cognitive performance

Chang

Kajackaite

2019

PLoS ONE

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This paper studies differences in the effect of temperature on cognitive performance by gender in a large controlled lab experiment (N = 543). We study performance in math, verbal and cognitive reflection tasks and find that the effects of temperature vary significantly across men and women. At higher temperatures, women perform better on a math and verbal task while the reverse effect is observed for men. The increase in female performance in response to higher temperature is significantly larger and more precisely estimated than the corresponding decrease in male performance. In contrast to math and verbal tasks, temperature has no impact on a measure of cognitive reflection for either gender. Our findings suggest that gender mixed workplaces may be able to increase productivity by setting the thermostat higher than current standards.

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“…It is also well documented that increased temperatures and thermal discomfort can result in acute subclinical health symptoms such as headache, fatigue, and difficulty in concentrating 1,4,5 and that they can negatively affect the cognitive performance of both adults performing office‐like type of work and children performing schoolwork 3,6‐12 . Heat stress has additionally been shown to cause a significant decline in the performance of attention‐demanding tasks 13 …”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Perceived air quality and cognitive performance decrease at moderately raised indoor temperatures even when clothed for comfort

et al. 2020

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This study investigated whether adjusting clothing to remain in neutral thermal comfort at moderately elevated temperature is capable of avoiding negative effects on perceived acute subclinical health symptoms, comfort, and cognitive performance. Two temperatures were examined: 23°C and 27°C. Twelve subjects were able to remain thermally comfortable at both temperatures by adjusting their clothing. They rated the physical environment, their comfort, the intensity of acute subclinical health symptoms, and their mental load, and they performed a number of cognitive tasks. Their physiological reactions were monitored. Their performance of several tasks was significantly worse at 27°C, and they reported increased mental load at this temperature. Skin temperature and humidity and respiration rate were higher, while blood oxygen saturation (SpO2) and pNN50 were lower at this temperature, the latter indicating increased stress. It is inferred that the observed physiological responses were mainly responsible for the negative effects on performance, as the subjects did not indicate any increased intensity of acute subclinical health symptoms although perceived air quality was worse at the higher temperature. The present results suggest that moderately elevated temperatures should be avoided even if thermal comfort can be achieved, as it may lead to reduced performance.

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Correlation of ambient air temperature and cognitive performance: A systematic review and meta-analysis

Cited by 66 publications

References 70 publications

The Impact of Optimized Daylight and Views on the Sleep Duration and Cognitive Performance of Office Workers

The Impact of Optimized Daylight and Views on the Sleep Duration and Cognitive Performance of Office Workers

Battle for the thermostat: Gender and the effect of temperature on cognitive performance

Perceived air quality and cognitive performance decrease at moderately raised indoor temperatures even when clothed for comfort

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