While face masks are an effective way of preventing the spread of infectious illnesses, a new study reveals the impact they have on people’s mood and cognition.
Led by the University of Otago – Ōtākou Whakaihu Waka, results show people who wore a mask for about eight hours felt less happy, more tense and performed poorly when their focus was tested.
Co-author Associate Professor Liana Machado, of the Department of Psychology, says masks have become a normal, often essential, part of people’s lives following the COVID-19 pandemic.
Associate Professor Liana Machado
“We found that wearing a mask for the day had some negative effects,” she says.
Forty-two university students aged 18-36 took part in two identical laboratory sessions, one week apart. Participants were required to wear a mask for about eight hours prior to, and throughout, one session and were maskless for the other.
During both sessions, their cognitive performance and mood was tested and results compared.
“During the mask session, participants reported feeling less happy and more tense, and they performed worse on a cognitive test designed to assess their ability to focus their attention and ignore distraction,” she says.
“On the bright side, performance on the other cognitive tests was not significantly worse.”
Associate Professor Machado was surprised by the results, given university-aged students are generally at their peak, developmentally.
“In terms of cognitive development, most people reach their peak abilities in their 20s, making typical university-aged students more resilient than most.
“The fact that participants struggled for one of the cognitive measures and were adversely impacted in terms of affect makes us concerned for vulnerable populations, such as older adults already struggling on a cognitive level, people suffering from depression or anxiety, and people with respiratory conditions.”
Most of the cognitive difficulties appear to be driven largely by people who felt anxious wearing a mask, so Associate Professor Machado says dedicated research into the effects on vulnerable populations is a vital next step.
“Particularly in the context of mandatory mask regulations, it is important to gain a full understanding of how the regulations might impact individuals,” she says.
“Once we arm people with knowledge, they will be able to make better decisions to limit any adverse impacts while ensuring they are protected from communicable diseases.”
Publication details:
Neda Nasrollahi, Tim Jowett & Liana Machado
Cognitive Processing