If you're reading this article at work, take a quick look around your office, what do you see? Are the women wearing sweaters or scarves while the men are saying how hot is is? Well, brace yourself, because the battle of the thermostat is about the begin.
It's no secret office thermostats are often set at temperatures women find chilly -- or in some cases, downright COLD!
Besides shivering the day away, a new study finds these frigid office temps may be affecting women's cognitive abilities as well. In the study recently publishedin the journal PLOS One, researchers found men scored higher than women on verbal and math tests at colder temperatures. But, as temperatures increased, women's results rose as well.
Researchers asked more than 500 college students to take hour-long tests with temperatures ranging between 61 and 90 degrees. The group was asked to solve basic math, verbal and logic problems. Female participants were able to answer more questions, correctly at warmer temperatures, while men performed better in cooler temps.
With these findings, researchers believe turning up the office thermostat will improve women’s cognitive functions without decreasing men's performance.
