Schools in the UK are closing as temperatures soar. If you’re a parent, you might be wondering what effect the heat has on your child. If they’re at school, will they be able to learn properly? If they’re at home, should they be playing or attending their normal clubs? How can you help keep them cool?
Understanding how high temperatures not only influence physical health, but also thinking and learning is critical.
Our research group investigates how heat influences the body and brain, and how targeted interventions can improve performance and safety. We research how heat affects cognitive and exercise performance as well as mitigation strategies to improve cognitive and exercise performance in the heat, and how exercise influences young people’s learning.
You have probably noticed that, on very hot days, it is harder to concentrate and stay motivated.
The heat can slow our ability to process information, make quick and accurate decisions and tends to make us feel more tired, distracted and irritable. Together, these changes mean our cognitive function is reduced. We don’t think, remember and focus as well as we normally would.
Research suggests that these high levels of exhaustion, irritability and thermal discomfort that come from being hot pose a particular risk to children’s learning and cognitive ability.
Children’s thermoregulatory systems are still developing, therefore they may struggle more than adults to manage the heat. On top of this, children often don’t drink enough fluids to replace the sweat they lose, putting them at greater risk during hot weather.
Children also tend to spend more time outdoors playing, running around and generating more body heat. This adds to the heat strain already experienced in hot weather, making it harder for them to focus and learn. With children spending more time outdoors and having less developed cooling systems, children’s cognitive function is affected by the heat more noticeably and quicker than it is adults.
Social and sporting activities
An important consideration is also how the heat affects day-to-day school activities that are essential to children’s physical and social development, such as after school clubs.
pics five/Shutterstock
Previous research shows that exercising in a hot environment, in particular team sports, leads to declines in performance because of increased core and muscle temperatures.
With children more vulnerable to heat-related strain, it can be safer for children to sit out of activities when temperatures become very high. However, cooling strategies can also help counteract the negative effects of the heat for both cognitive and exercise performance.
Simple methods such as providing cold and icy drinks and fans are effective at lowering body temperature, heart rate and negative subjective feelings towards the heat, such as feeling uncomfortable because you’re too hot. These methods can be a simple yet practical tool to help manage children’s exposure to the heat, keeping them safe and more comfortable.
You can also choose lightweight, more breathable clothing for your children when it is hot to help keep their skin temperature down. Encourage fluid intake with electrolytes to maintain hydration, as well as prompting them to take breaks inside or in shaded areas to minimise heat exposure.
Alongside these practical cooling strategies and easily implemented changes to their children’s day, it is important for parents to keep an eye out for signs of heat stress. These can include changes in mood, headaches or unusual tiredness, which often point to the early signs that the heat is becoming unmanageable.
Spotting this early will help parents step in with cool, rest or shade and help their children be more comfortable and safer in the heat.
