Anyone who’s ever worked in an office has seen women with cardigans on or with space heaters under their desks because they they’re freezing and can’t walk over and bump up the thermostat, like they can at home. As the workplace temperature war rages on, a new study finds 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 did better on math and verbal tasks in warmer environments, while the fellas 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.