First Harvard Study from 2015 that show CO2 concentrations in indoor air alone cause cognitive decline. https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/energy-environment/wp/2015/10/27/why-your-office-air-could-be-crimping-your-productivity/ Just breathing under load https://www.dentinstitute.com/posts/lifestyle-tips/22-facts-about-the-brain-world-brain-day/ number 16,
Increases carbon dioxide concentration in an indoor environment in a matter of minutes. as little as 940 PPM of Carbon Dioxide in a room reduces cognitive ability by 15% and shoots up to a cognitive loss of 50%. at 1400 PPM
Our brains evolved a period of lowered Carbon Dioxide Concentrations, ideally 550 PPM https://www.theatlantic.com/science/archive/2019/12/carbon-dioxide-pollution-making-people-dumber-heres-what-we-know/603826/ and indoor air concentrations of Carbon Dioxide continue to get worse https://www.businessinsider.com/carbon-dioxide-indoors-could-reduce-cognitive-abilities-2019-12
A list of symptoms of being exposed to excessive levels of Carbon Dioxide is listed here https://labs.selfdecode.com/blog/carbon-dioxide-poisoning/
2018 article states that the effects of CO2 on cognitive ability have been ignored until recently and that the CO2 prevents the brain from metabolizing oxygen https://medium.com/wedonthavetime/co2-affects-our-thinking-93c016bcc74d
Second Harvard Study from September 2021 https://www.hsph.harvard.edu/news/press-releases/office-air-quality-may-affect-employees-cognition-productivity/ states that the air quality within an office can have significant impacts on employees’ cognitive function, including response times and ability to focus, and it may also affect their productivity, according to new research led by Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health.
and found that increased concentrations of fine particulate matter (PM2.5) and lower ventilation rates (measured using carbon dioxide (CO2) levels as a proxy) were associated with slower response times and reduced accuracy on a series of cognitive tests. The researchers noted that they observed impaired cognitive function at concentrations of PM2.5 and CO2 that are common within indoor environments.
Our study adds to the emerging evidence that air pollution has an impact on our brain. The findings show that increases in PM2.5 levels were associated with acute reductions in cognitive function. It’s the first time we’ve seen these short-term effects among younger adults,
Meaning bad results on the Cogscreen are not from brain damage or inherent lower cognition but because of environmental factors of the condition of the room such as higher overall CO2 levels, which if the test taker is forced to wear a mask, the CO2 levels breathed in are increased even more so on top of the particulates and bacteria it catches and forces the wearer to breath in.
The study also confirmed how low ventilation rates negatively impact cognitive function. Overall, the study suggests that poor indoor air quality affects health and productivity significantly more than we previously understood.
For pointing out that CO2 affects math especially timed math
For the arithmetic-based test, the study found that increases in CO2 but not PM2.5 were associated with slower response times. As concentrations of both pollutants increased, however, participants completed fewer questions correctly in the allotted test time.
Even using your vehicles air conditioning recirculator causes CO2 build up which Scotty Kilmer even stated you'll get "sleepy" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x3ZxIxMzSpU
Cognitive Assessments taken in rooms with these conditions lead to an artificially bad cognitive score, which is used against the pilot mandated by the FAA to take the test in order to retain their FAA medical certification.