Your lunchtime walks in the summer could be making you less productive
Researchers find that a brief walk outside on a hot day impairs cognitive performance

Date:
February 28, 2022
Source:
University of Tsukuba
Summary:
Researchers discovered that a brief 15-minute walk in a hot outdoor
environment impairs cognitive function. Moreover, this effect was
most pronounced in sleep-deprived men and could negatively impact
the productivity and learning of workers and students in urban
cities in the summer months.



FULL STORY ========================================================================== Studies have shown that being in a hot environment reduces cognitive performance, whereas a brief walk enhances cognition. But what happens
when you go for a brief walk on a hot summer's day, as so many students
and office workers do during lunch or an afternoon break? Turns out,
you might be better off avoiding the heat.


==========================================================================
In a study published this month in Building and Environment, researchers
from the University of Tsukuba discovered that just 15 minutes of walking outside on a hot day impaired cognitive performance, and this was most
striking in men who don't get enough sleep.

Those who work or study in urban heat islands, such as large cities
in Japan, generally have the convenience of air-conditioning indoors
over the summer months, which largely counters the negative impact
of heat on learning and productivity. However, brief exposure to hot environments during commuting or breaks is inevitable, and whether such exposure affects cognition has not been known. "Previous experiments
have used specialized climate chambers to test these effects. However,
outdoor thermal environment differs significantly from indoor thermal environments in terms of radiation and wind," says senior author
Professor Hiroyuki Kusaka. "Radiation and wind have significant effects
on thermal perception. Therefore, in order to assess the effects of
outdoor heat stress on cognitive performance, experiments should be
conducted in real outdoor environments." Researchers simulated a
real-world scenario during the Japanese summer in which workers or
students leave an air-conditioned indoor environment to walk or have a
break in a hot outdoor urban environment. Ninety-six students completed a simple arithmetic test in an air-conditioned room before either staying indoors, walking outside, or resting outside for 15 minutes. They then
returned indoors to complete a second arithmetic test, and any changes in performance were measured. Walking in a hot outdoor environment impaired cognitive performance; however, it was not simply the exposure to the hot environment that impaired cognition. Rather, it was the combination of
walking and being outside in the summer heat that had impacted cognitive performance.

Furthermore, this effect was more pronounced in people, specifically men,
who were sleep deprived, having slept less than 5 hours.

"Japanese office workers and students, especially men, need to be aware
of this situation as they work and study," says Kusaka. The team hopes
that their findings will help guide ways to improve productivity and
learning in workers and students in Japan, and perhaps even further
afield as the impact of climate change moves to the forefront.

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always get wrong about diet and exercise. Claim_yours_now_>>> ========================================================================== Story Source: Materials provided by University_of_Tsukuba. Note: Content
may be edited for style and length.


========================================================================== Journal Reference:
1. Yuki Asano, Yusuke Nakamura, Asuka Suzuki-Parker, Shohei Aiba,
Hiroyuki
Kusaka. Effect of walking in heat-stressful outdoor environments
in an urban setting on cognitive performance indoors. Building and
Environment, 2022; 213: 108893 DOI: 10.1016/j.buildenv.2022.108893 ==========================================================================

Link to news story: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2022/02/220228114410.htm

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