What temperature is the best test score? Correlation between temperature and cognitive function

Correlation between temperature and cognitive function

Is there a relationship between room temperature and cognitive function? An interesting experiment was conducted in a dormitory in Boston. The study, conducted in a scorching heat wave with 44 students in their late teens and early 20s, showed that students living in dormitories without air conditioning performed about 13 percent worse on cognitive function than those living in dormitories with air conditioning.

These cognitive functions also affected test scores. According to a 2018 Washington Post article, similar results were found on the SAT test in China and the PSAT in the United States.

In China, students who took the test in a cool environment of about 12~14°C scored the best. Similarly, in the U.S., students who took the PSAT reported a drop in their test scores as the hotter days before the test accumulated.

Experts speculate that the reason for this is that the energy that should be spent on brain activity is used to reduce the body's temperature. The brain's energy needs mainly come from glucose, and in order to maintain homeostasis, the human body uses energy to lower body temperature, which is said to reduce cognitive function and adversely affect decision-making ability.

Researchers who followed the experiment in the U.S. explained that "heat reduces learning capacity and reduces the amount of learning learned by 1% for every 1°F increase in the classroom over the course of a year." If the temperature increases by 10°F (about 5.56°C), students' ability to learn decreases by 10%. When studying or taking exams, it is best to do it in a cool environment.