Spending just one hour breathing in polluted air can change the way your brain and lungs function, a new study has found. Air pollution, specifically pollutants called particulate matter (PM), has been linked to a multitude of diseases, including asthma and several forms of cancer.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. 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.The greatest respiratory impact was seen among people exposed to limonene, followed by woodsmoke, diesel exhaust and cooking emissions. 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. This may be because nitrogen oxides in the pollutant can alter blood flow to the brain, impairing day-to-day function. 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. Researchers in the UK found just an hour of pollution exposure may worsen lung and cognitive function (file photo)