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5th October 2019
03:22pm BST
And, as they found, the more mentally overwhelmed they were, the colder their noses got.
The researchers used thermal imaging camera to track the participants' brains while they were doing mental tasks.
When the participants were completely focused on a task, the rate of their breathing changed and blood flow was redirected from the face to the brain to help it work harder.
Lead author Dr Alastair Campbell Ritchie, of the Bioengineering Research Group, said that they were surprised as to how strong the links between mental strain and facial temperature were.
He said:
“We expected that mental demands on an operator would result in physiological changes but the direct correlation between the workload and the skin temperature was very impressive.
“It was counterintuitive. We were not expecting to see the face getting colder. With this accurate way to estimate workload we can develop methods that will assist the operator at times of maximum stress.”
He went on to explain that the thermal imaging technique used in the study could benefit other workplaces to see if employees who have strenuous hours, like pilots, are working to a level that could be detrimental to their performance.
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