Candles can produce particulate matter air pollution (Image: Getty)
A burning candle can bring warmth to your home in the depth of , but scientists have warned they may have worrying effects on brain function.
A study found that even brief exposure to high concentrations of particulate matter (PM) air may impair a person’s ability to focus on tasks, avoid distraction and behave in a socially acceptable manner.
Some 26 adults were exposed to either high PM concentrations from burning candles or clean air for one hour, and asked to breathe normally or use a nose clip.
Cognitive tests four hours before and after exposure showed significant reductions in selective attention and emotion expression discrimination after exposure to pollution, regardless of breathing technique.
Study co-author Dr Thomas Faherty, from the University of Birmingham, said: “Our study provides compelling evidence that even short-term exposure to particulate matter can have immediate negative effects on brain functions essential for daily activities.”
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Selective attention aids decision-making and goal-directed behaviour, such as prioritising items on your shopping list in the supermarket while ignoring other products and resisting impulse buys.
Socio-emotional cognition involves detecting and interpreting emotions in oneself and others, which helps guide socially acceptable behaviour.
Inflammation caused by pollution may be responsible for the deficits, the experts said.
And they noted that working memory was not affected, suggesting that some brain functions are more resilient to short-term pollution exposure.
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Professor Francis Pope, also from Birmingham, said poor air quality could make workers less productive “with significant societal and economic implications in a high-tech world reliant on cognitive excellence”.
He added: “Reduced productivity impacts economic growth, further highlighting the urgent need for stricter air quality regulations and public health measures to combat the harmful effects of pollution on brain health, particularly in highly polluted urban areas.”
The study also involved researchers from the University of Manchester and was published in the journal Nature Communications.