The temperature inside your home may affect more than comfort. A study of older adults found that people had the fewest problems paying attention when their homes stayed within a moderate temperature range.
The findings raise questions about how hotter weather and poorly heated homes could affect brain health as people age.
Researchers from the Hinda and Arthur Marcus Institute for Aging Research at Hebrew SeniorLife, which is affiliated with Harvard Medical School, carried out the study.
They followed 47 adults aged 65 and older who were living in the community rather than in nursing homes. The research was published in The Journals of Gerontology, Series A: Biological Sciences and Medical Sciences.
The researchers monitored temperatures inside participants’ homes for one year. They also asked the participants about times when they had difficulty maintaining attention. This allowed the team to compare changes in indoor temperature with changes in reported ability to focus.
The results suggested there was a comfortable middle range for the brain. Older adults reported the least difficulty paying attention when indoor temperatures were between about 68 and 75 degrees Fahrenheit, or 20 to 24 degrees Celsius. Problems became more common as homes became either hotter or colder.
For every change of about 7 degrees Fahrenheit, or 4 degrees Celsius, away from this comfortable range, the likelihood of reporting attention difficulties roughly doubled. This suggests that both excessive heat and excessive cold may make it harder for some older adults to concentrate. The finding is important because attention is needed for many ordinary daily activities.
Attention helps people follow conversations, remember instructions, manage medicines, prepare meals and react safely to their surroundings. Even temporary problems with concentration could make these activities more difficult. For an older person already dealing with changes in memory, vision, hearing or mobility, an uncomfortable indoor environment could add another challenge.
Scientists have several reasons to suspect that temperature can affect thinking. The human body works constantly to keep its internal temperature within a safe range. When the surrounding environment becomes too hot or cold, the body must use more energy to maintain that balance.
Older adults can be particularly sensitive to temperature extremes. Aging can reduce the body’s ability to cool itself through sweating and to conserve heat in cold conditions. Some chronic illnesses and medicines can also affect the way the body responds to heat or cold.
Lead author Dr. Amir Baniassadi studies how climate and indoor environments affect older people. He said the findings show why environmental conditions should be considered when researchers and health professionals think about cognitive health in aging. The issue may become increasingly important as climate change brings more frequent periods of extreme heat.
The study also points to an important social problem. Not everyone can easily keep a home at a comfortable temperature. Heating and air conditioning can be expensive, while older buildings may have poor insulation or inefficient cooling systems.
People with lower incomes may therefore face greater exposure to uncomfortable indoor temperatures. During heat waves, some may avoid using air conditioning because of electricity costs. During cold weather, others may limit heating for the same reason.
This means temperature-related risks may not be shared equally. Older adults with fewer financial resources, poor-quality housing or limited access to cooling and heating could be more vulnerable. Social isolation may add to the problem if nobody notices that a person’s home has become dangerously hot or cold.
The findings could support efforts to improve housing for an aging population. Better insulation, efficient heating and cooling, and systems that automatically regulate temperature may help create safer indoor environments.
Public programs that help vulnerable people pay energy costs during extreme weather could also have health benefits.
However, the study has important limitations. Only 47 people took part, which is a very small group from which to draw broad conclusions about all older adults. Participants also reported their own attention difficulties, rather than completing extensive cognitive testing every time the temperature changed.
Because the research was observational, it cannot prove that temperature itself caused the changes in attention. Other factors could have influenced both comfort and concentration, including sleep, illness, activity levels or time spent at home. Larger studies will be needed to confirm the temperature range and determine how much indoor conditions directly affect thinking.
Even so, the study is valuable because it measured temperatures in people’s actual homes over an entire year. Laboratory experiments can control conditions carefully, but they may not reflect the environments older adults experience every day. Real-world monitoring can reveal problems that are easy to miss in short experiments.
The research also expands the discussion about climate change and health. Extreme temperatures are already known to increase risks such as dehydration, heat illness and cardiovascular problems. The new findings suggest that everyday thinking and concentration may deserve attention as well.
For older adults and families, the study offers a practical reminder that a comfortable home environment may support more than physical comfort.
Keeping indoor temperatures reasonably stable, especially during very hot or cold periods, could be one part of supporting healthy aging. More research is needed, but protecting older people from temperature extremes may ultimately help both their bodies and their minds.
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