As summer approaches, you may forget things, have trouble concentrating, or generally feel less cognitively. You may be thinking, “Is this normal? Does this happen to everyone?”
This past summer, this definitely happened to me. For example, I struggled more than ever with words on the tip of my tongue. Ever elusive names – but common words too. Words like … what do you call what you put on a dog? No collar – the one with four straps?
(After two minutes): Spend.
Is there something about the summer months that makes it worse brain fog and poor memory?
Research shows the answer is yes. In fact, scientists have identified four main factors. And, fortunately, if you are aware of these harmful conditions, you can reduce their effects.
Feature #1. Longer days and shorter nights
we the brain demands stable diet quality sleep for optimal performance.
But some studies have shown that sleep suffers during the summer. A Studies in the Netherlands It found that sleep duration – measured objectively with hand-held activity monitors – was shorter in summer than in winter.
In another studyresearchers in Germany examined brain activity during 12 months of the year. Although they found that total sleep time did not change across seasons, REM he slept In this study, REM sleep decreased in the spring and early summer and increased in the winter months.
And REM sleep cycles are known to be important for some memory and thinking skills, e.g consolidating emotional memories in long term memory.
What is the reason for bad sleep in summer? A major factor seems to be daylight.
For example, A to read conducted in the Arctic summer—with some periods of 24-hour sunlight—showed that extremely long sunlight was associated with circadian rhythmsdelay in melatonin secretion and worse sleep.
Feature #2. Warmer temperatures
Here’s a sentence I never imagined writing: Maybe Mel Torme was right: It’s just too hot.
Do hot temperatures also reduce our thinking ability?
A group scientists in Great Britain checked this out. They brought volunteers into a lab to measure their mental performance under two heat conditions: room temperature (70°F) and a very hot environment (103°F).
In the heat, participants performed worse on a computer task that required inhibitory control—the ability to ignore distractions and focus. It’s an ability we often take for granted, but one we constantly rely on in everyday life.
wider, reads shows that high temperature disrupts both simple and complex cognitive tasks. However, it is much worse when the task is more demanding – activities such as performing mental arithmetic, planning problem-solving and driving.
Feature #3. Dehydration
Another factor in summer’s attack on the mind is dehydration. Summer brings two main dangers: the aforementioned warmer temperatures and more physical activity.
Abundant evidence shows Dehydration destroys knowledge. And most importantly, the decline in performance is more severe in high-level cognitive tasks, such as measuring. attention or logical reasoning, compared to low-level tasks such as simple measures of reaction time.
The good news is that it can be restored with water reverses dehydration-related declines in cognitive functionincluding memory task performance and cognitive flexibility.
Feature #4. Wildfire smoke
I live in the Pacific Northwest. Here, as in many places, our summer is increasingly smoky from forest fires.
I personally have more headaches on really smoky days and I was wondering if these pollutants are affecting my brain and thinking?
Unfortunately, they probably are. Recently review showed that our brains are affected by extreme heat, fire smoke, and a combination of the two. Specifically, these conditions are associated with brain inflammation and disruption of neuronal signaling (the basis of all thinking).
Important environmental readings
For example, Cleland and colleagues documented an association between smoke levels and decreased attention. They followed a large group of people over the course of a year, tracking their scores on tests of selective attention and smoke levels. These two measures coincided. As concentrations of wildfire smoke and particulates increased, indices of focal attention decreased.
Maybe we’d better grow those Smokey Bear ads again.
What can you do?
Of course, your specific response to summer’s damaging effects on the mind will depend on where you live and your lifestyle variables (to some extent – no pun intended). But here is a buffet of advice to choose from.
- Protect your sleep. Even if you live near the Arctic, you can use blackout curtains or eye masks to create fake dark nights.
- Bless you. Use A/C or fans, limit time outdoors, and avoid physical activity during scorching hot hours (wouldn’t it be nice to hear advice to exercise less?)
- Stay hydrated. Your goal should be light to clear colored urine. It’s not a very scientific test, but it works without introducing multiple variables.
- Minimize exposure to smoke. Tips for this include using A/C and avoiding outdoor physical activity when the air quality is poor. see CDC Safety Guidelines over the smoke of fireworks.
- And, as a scientist, I can’t help but mention one tip for a broader, long-term solution for you and your fellow Earthlings: Take action to reduce it. global warming (main source warmer temperatures and more fires). Remember that every little bit you can do helps.
Copyright Suzanne Penningroth
A similar article was published on the Psychological Science Lite blog: Blog – SL Penningroth
