Our brain prefers cold…

Our decisions are swayed by the temperature of our surroundings.

Because

Our brain is an organ and, just like all other organs, it needs energy to function. Everything we do—whether it is a physical behaviour or a mental process—uses the same energy source: glucose. We use glucose as we walk, talk, breathe, and perform other physical functions in our daily lives. We also use glucose when we perform effortful mental functions, such as making decisions, exerting self-control, suppressing emotional responses, and even answering math problems. However, this fundamental source of both physical and mental energy – glucose - is a limited resource.

One of the brain’s most important task is temperature regulation. When the ambient temperature is unusually hot or unusually cold, it must use energy —glucose— to maintain a healthy internal temperature. We shiver or sweat, seeking to avoid hypothermia and heat stroke. These two processes - correcting for excessive heat or cold - are not equal. Cooling the body down requires more energy than warming it up.

Warm temperatures deplete our resources and our brain uses up large amounts of glucose to do that.

Mental processes need glucose, in consequence physical demands imposed by excessive warmth reduce our capacity for cognitive functioning, affecting our decision-making abilities.

The neuroscientists decided to test this apparent link between weather and complex decision-making in the lab by performing a series of experiments comparing participants’ cognitive performance at two seemingly unremarkable temperatures: 19° and 25° Celsius. People tend to be most comfortable at around 22° Celsius. Despite this minimal deviation in temperature, the researchers found remarkable differences in cognitive functioning. These results suggest that even simple cognitive tasks can be adversely affected by excessive ambient warmth. 

These studies suggest also that higher ambient temperatures change our patterns of decision-making. As our bodies struggle to maintain a healthy internal temperature, they use up resources that would otherwise be available for mental processes. As a result, we are less able to make complex decisions—we give up early, we make mistakes, and even we shy away from making these decisions in the first place. We choose the easy option rather than the complex one.

Would you prefer to work in Alaska or in Morocco?