Have you noticed that in June even a simple task takes twice as much effort as in February?
For a long time I thought it was just laziness due to warm weather. It turns out there's quite measurable physics behind it.
I decided to dig into this issue.
I even formed a small theory that the brain is very close in architecture to processors 😂

The statistics are not great: productivity drops by 20%, distractibility increases by almost half. 🥵
The University of Chicago calculated that each extra degree above normal takes away 4% of performance.
There is also a threshold: after +24°C in the office, work capacity consistently declines. Working memory was even tested, it is 10% worse in summer than in winter ❄️

But more interesting than the numbers is the process of brain function at elevated temperatures 💡

In heat, the brain switches resources to cool the body, leaving less for thoughts.
Concentration and memory suffer first, because the system literally reduces its power to avoid "overheating" 💥

If you work with electronics, the analogy suggests itself.

This is thermal throttling — what happens to a processor in a hot room.
Heated above the threshold = frequency dropped.
A protective process to prevent early failure.
And the more complex the task, the earlier the protection kicks in: analytics at +30°C is noticeably slower than routine tasks.

Another small analogy between the brain and a processor.
The brain = 2% of body mass, but generates about 20% of all body heat at rest.
Essentially, we carry an overclocked chip in our head at the limit of heat dissipation 🤩

Throttling is amplified by dehydration — poor cooling for the processor.
Even a loss of 1-2% of body weight in fluid noticeably reduces reaction speed and memory, because blood volume and oxygen delivery to the brain decrease. Overheated hardware without liquid cooling behaves the same way.

And here's the important thing: throttling cannot be cured by willpower. Even powerful hardware without cooling will hit a ceiling. The same goes for us; neither coffee nor guilt will change body temperature.

So, if you noticed that working has become harder, don't blame yourself for laziness.
You're just overheated ) You need water cooling... For example, at the sea 😂

How is your work performance in the heat? Do frequencies drop or do you keep the bar level? Write in the comments 👇

@data_dzen 🙂