The scientific reason why summer heat makes us so grumpy

Research confirms inversely proportional link between temperature and social behaviour

Have the soaring temperatures been making you feel crabby? If you’ve snapped at your kids or spouse (or maybe even a stranger) lately, you can officially blame the weather. And guess what?  Science will back you up.

According to research published in the European Journal of Social Psychology, three separate studies have all yielded the same conclusion: summer heat isn’t just getting on our nerves. It makes everything else get on our nerves, too!

First, researchers surveyed data from a 2010 study conducted in Russian shopping malls during a summer heat wave. Because none of the stores had air conditioning, the scientists wanted to see if the heat would affect the employees, reported Reader’s Digest.

Sure enough, the store employees really seemed to be feeling the heat. Employees were 59% less likely that summer to engage with shoppers by offering their assistance while they shop. In other words, the human relations aspect of the job was significantly lacking.

For the second experiment, researchers asked 160 participants to take an online trivia quiz. Half the participants were instructed to imagine themselves in an uncomfortably warm setting before starting, the “control” group took it without instructions. After the quiz, they were all given an optional survey about their experience.



Those who thought about being hot were over 30% less likely than everyone else to agree to do it. They also reported feeling more tired and less happy than the other participants.

The final study placed college students in the same class on organisational management, but in two sessions: one in a stuffy room and once in air conditioning. The 35 students in the air-conditioned room answered the optional survey questions. But out of those in the hot room,  only six bothered!

“The point of our study is that ambient temperature affects individual states that shape emotional and behavioural reactions,” said Liuba Y Belkin, lead researcher. “So people help less in an uncomfortable environment, whatever the reason they come up with to justify why they cannot do” certain things.

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