Spending just one hour breathing in polluted air can change the way your brain and lungs function, a new study has found.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Air pollution, specifically pollutants called particulate matter (PM), has been linked to a multitude of diseases<\/a>, including asthma and several forms of\u00a0cancer<\/a>.<\/p>\n In new research, healthy adults were exposed for 60 minutes to five different air types: clean air, limonene SOA (a citrus fragrance commonly used in cleaning products), diesel exhaust, woodsmoke and cooking emissions.\u00a0<\/p>\n After an hour, the volunteers had a four-hour break from exposure before researchers tested their lung function, working memory, attention, emotion processing, psychomotor control (the time it takes the brain to receive sensory information) and motor function.<\/p>\n The greatest respiratory impact was seen among people exposed to limonene, followed by woodsmoke, diesel exhaust and cooking emissions.\u00a0<\/p>\n When it came to cognition, diesel exhaust showed the strongest signs of impairing executive function, which is responsible for planning, focused attention and emotional regulation.\u00a0<\/p>\n This may be because nitrogen oxides in the pollutant can alter blood flow to the brain, impairing day-to-day function.\u00a0<\/p>\n Though participants were only around pollutants for an hour, the researchers warned repeated exposure could lead to permanent cognitive issues and health risks such as cancer.<\/p>\n Researchers in the UK found just an hour of pollution exposure may worsen lung and cognitive function (file photo)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n![\"Researchers](\"https:\/\/i.dailymail.com\/1s\/2026\/05\/26\/15\/108877603-15846835-image-a-1_1779807423338.jpg\")
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