Turn off the AC! Women’s cognitive performance is better at HIGHER room temperature – but men’s isn’t
- Researchers gave men and women tests in rooms where temperatures were set between 61F (16C) and 90F (32C)
- Women did better on the tests when the room temperature was warmer
- They answered more questions correctly as well as more questions overall
- However, men performed better on the tests when the temperature was cooler
Turning off the air conditioner could improve the cognitive performance of female office workers, a new study finds.
Researchers say that women performed better on math and verbal tests at higher room temperatures.
But this wasn’t the case for men. In fact, they performed best on the same test when the room temperature was lower.
Previous surveys have found that women tend to prefer when the indoor temperature is higher compared to men.
But the team, from the USC Marshall School of Business in California and the WZB Berlin Social Science Center in Germany, say its study is the first to compare the sexes and the effect temperature has on cognitive performance.
A new study, led by the USC Marshall School of Business, found that women performed better on math and verbal tests when room temperature was warmer (file image)
Research has shown that there are scientific reasons why there is an ongoing battle over the thermostat between the sexes.
A study from the University of Utah found that women’s extremities – namely their hands and feet – are colder by a couple of degrees than men’s, which women more susceptible to cold.
And another from the University of Maryland found that the metabolic rate for men is roughly 23 percent higher than for women, which means that women’s bodies heat slower than men’s bodies.
For the new study, published in PLOS One, the team recruited more than 500 students between September 2017 and December 2017.
The participants took logic, math and verbal tests in a room that ranged between about 61F (16C) and around 90F (32C).
Results showed that females did better on the math and verbal tests when the room temperature was warmer.
Not only did they answer more questions correctly, but they also submitted more answers overall.
On the other hand, men performer better in cooler temperature. When the thermostat was turned higher, they answered fewer questions overall and fewer correctly.
However, it did not appear that temperature had an effect on logic test performance for either men or women.
Participants for the study were German university students, so the authors noted that the results might vary among other demographic groups.
But they suggested that temperatures should be set higher than they currently are.
In fact, a 2015 study found that the majority of office buildings set temperatures using a formula from the 1960s that calculates the metabolic rates of men.
This is likely because, during that time period, it was primarily men working in offices. However, women now make up 47 percent of US work force, according to the US Department of Labor.
‘Our findings suggest that gender mixed workplaces may be able to increase productivity by setting the thermostat higher than current standards,’ the authors wrote.