Extreme heat and reduced cognitive performance in adults in non-air-conditioned buildings
July 10, 2018, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health
Students who lived in dormitories without air conditioning (AC) during a heat wave performed worse on a series of cognitive tests compared with students who lived in air-conditioned dorms, according to new research led by Harvard T.H Chan School of Public Health. The field study, the first to demonstrate the detrimental cognitive effects of indoor temperatures during a heat wave in a group of young healthy individuals, highlights the need for sustainable design solutions in mitigating the health impacts of extreme heat.
"Most of the research on the health effects of heat has been done in vulnerable populations, such as the elderly, creating the perception that the general population is not at risk from heat waves," said Jose Guillermo Cedeño-Laurent, research fellow at Harvard Chan School and lead author of the study. "To address this blind spot, we studied healthy students living in dorms as a natural intervention during a heat wave in Boston. Knowing what the risks are across different populations is critical considering that in many cities, such as Boston, the number of heat waves is projected to increase due to climate change."
https://medicalxpress.com/news/2018-07-extreme-cognitive-adults-non-air-conditioned.html
