Temperature and Room Design: How it affects learning, productivity, and stress response.

This is the fourth episode in our series about Room Design. We are discussing various design elements and how they impact stress, productivity, attention, and behavior. 

Think how you feel after being outside on a hot, humid day. You’re sweating, hot, and feeling exhausted. Now, think how a child feels in a hot classroom with either no A/C or bad airflow. They will struggle to remember what they learned that day. 

More elements go into learning than just content. Other things impact memory and productivity, like room temperature in a classroom or a work setting.

Remember Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs? You must have psychological and physical needs met first, in order to have the brain space to perform “higher-order” thinking skills. Examples include critical thinking, creativity, logic, and reason. 

Based on the Harvard-based National Bureau of Economic Research, each school day with temperatures above 90 degrees F resulted in the loss of one-sixth of 1% of a year’s learning. Temp over 100?  Those days saw a loss of 0.5% of a year’s learning. Crazy!

Recent research by Cornell studied the effects of cold on the performance of Florida-based employees. When temperatures were low (below 68°F), employees made 44% more mistakes. Also crazy!

So, what is the optimal working and learning temperature?  68 to 73 degrees F. 

This episode includes several tips to help control a room’s temperature. Some have an expense involved (like air conditioning) while others work naturally with your body (staying hydrated). 

One tip from this episode: 
Put a tray of ice cubes in front of a tabletop fan to help cool the room a bit.

Listen to the episode for more tips or check out the blog post linked below. 

Lauren answers this week’s listener question during the episode: What are some tips for redirecting intrusive or negative thoughts for teens who do not appreciate mindfulness?

Try-at-home tip:  Real Food

Other related resources from The Behavior Hub:
Blog Post – Room Temperature: How It Affects Learning

Our Online Courses: 

• Classroom Design with the Brain in Mind
• From Wild Emotions to Tamed Feelings – How to Self-Regulate
• From Conflict to Calm: Communicating with Challenging Children

• Do you have a question? I can answer it in a future episode!
  Email questions to podcast@thebehaviorhub.com or send via text to 717-693-7744.
• Subscribe to our mailing list and find out more about the Emotional Brain.
• Check out our Facebook Group – Raising and Teaching Respectful Children 
• The Behavior Hub website
• The Behavior Hub blog

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