I (Bonnie) work in an office that's always cold...in offices all over the world you'll see women wearing cardigans or with a space heater under their desk because they they’re freezing and can’t walk over and bump up the thermostat like they can at home. a newstudyfinds that if women could crank up the temp a little, it could actually boost their cognitive functioning.
Researchers had 550 college students do tasks like adding double-digit numbers and making words out of 10 random letters, in temperatures ranging from about 61 to 90-degrees. And they found that women do better on math and verbal tasks in warmer environments, while the guys do better when it’s colder.
Study authors say at low temperatures, the gender gap in the math task is “huge,” but as it gets warmer, the women get better and better and at some point, there’s no gender gap left. And since temperature of the work environment doesn’t just affect comfort, but performance as well, wear that sweater proudly in your freezing office this summer.
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