Sweltering hot holidays can lower your IQ
Holidays to sweltering hot destinations can lower your IQ by up to 20 points.
Research by Professor Siegfiend Lehrl of the University of Erlangen in Germany, a specialist in mental performance, says that sunbathing and relaxation cause one's front lobes to shrivel because inactivity reduces oxygen to the brain and, this in turn, affects the nerve cells which send electrical impulses. Add dehydration caused by heat and alcohol into the equation and brain cell volume may decrease by up to 15%.
According to an article in the Telegraph, Professor Lehrl says that 14 days of complete rest can be enough to bring your IQ down by 20 points. "Vocabulary shrinks and we even detect personality changes," he said.
To reverse the decline, Professor Lehrl suggests that holidaymakers should exercise their brain for at least 10 minutes a day by playing an intellectually stimulating game, take regular long walks and drink plenty of fluid and chew lots of gum - the part of the brainstem that keeps us alert is stimulated by chewing.
The good news is that the deterioration in IQ is only temporary and usually returns to normal within four days.
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