​This small device might be one of the simplest ways to boost your brainpower.

 
 

It’s a CO₂ monitor, and unfortunately, it was redlined at 1,653 ppm on my flight back to California yesterday. A 2016 Harvard study found that level will dramatically affect my cognitive abilities. Maybe flights aren’t the best place to be writing reports or reading depos after all.

Researchers tested 24 professionals (architects, engineers, programmers, managers, etc.) and exposed them to varying CO₂ levels while assessing their cognitive function in nine domains. The three most relevant to recon were:

  • Information Usage – using data to attain goals

  • Breadth of Approach – weighing multiple options and perspectives to attain goals

  • Strategy – integrating information to plan and execute complex solutions

Here’s what an increase in CO₂ does to your mental performance.

CO₂ concentration is on the x-axis, while the y-axis shows a normalized cognitive function score. Clearly, we should be aiming to for ~500 ppm.

My office is generally around 600-650 (great for commercial locations) and I can keep my home under 550 by cracking a window. As you saw above, when you’re on a plane it’s probably between 1,200 and 1,800, which might be why many of us conk out on flights. Hotels are usually high. With a few people in a car, you'll shoot to 1,800 real quick, unless you turn off recirculate or crack a window. Sadly, my daughter’s school is regularly pinned at 1,800. Tough to do your best work in those conditions.

While these emails usually focus on tools and methods for recon, it’s hard to put them to use if you’re stewing in respiratory backwash… so it’s worth making sure your working environment is kosher.

Thanks for reading, keep learning!

Lou Peck
Lightpoint | JS Forensics

Sign up for to the point