Heat Waves Might Actually Affect Brain Function, According To A New Study (Video)

Loving the summer but going nuts with the heat wave? No sweat! Well, some sweat, but you are not alone, specially if you are having trouble thinking straight through it! Buzz60’s Maria Mercedes Galuppo has more.

If you feel like this summer has, so far, been hotter than ever before, you’re not wrong. Around the Fourth of July, meteorologists said that all-time heat records were not only being recorded all over the United States, but all over the world. Africa hit the highest temperature ever recorded, there were an estimated 70 deaths in Canada because of the heat, and a heat wave in the UK revealed signs of an ancient civilization. Here in the U.S., most cities, from Burlington, Vermont to Los Angeles, California, hit their highest temps yet… and it doesn’t seem to be stopping any time soon. This kind of weather doesn’t feel great and can be seriously dangerous to your health. If you also feel like it messes with your mind, you’re not alone. In fact, a new study has found that heat waves might actually make it harder for you to think straight.

Researchers from the Harvard T.H. Can School of Public Health studied students in dorm rooms with and without air conditioning during a heat wave. The results, which were published in the journal PLOS Medicine, were that the students who studied through the heat with no air conditioning ended up performing worse on a series of cognitive tests. So if you’ve ever felt like the heat makes it harder for you to get anything done, this study is proof that it actually does exactly that.