This article appears for archival purposes. Any events, programs and/or initiatives mentioned may no longer be applicable.
Wellness Wednesday: How To Stay Cool During The Summer
The summer is here but (in the words of Bananarama) it doesn’t have to be a “cruel” one. There are little things you can do every day to help you stay cool and beat the heat. From now until temperatures drop below 90, you’ll want to try out some of these simple and effective techniques that will help you maintain a cool body temperature and keep you safe from the debilitating effects of dehydration.
Drink Water. A LOT Of It
Many of us, when we were kids, shared the same complaint: water doesn’t taste like anything! That’s true, but that’s something we all have to get past because absolutely nothing you drink will do your body more good than water. If your body was a car, water is its gasoline. It is essential to your health and wellness to stay hydrated, and that’s even more the case in the summertime when the rising heat makes you sweat harder and more frequently than you normally would.
Water affects the homeostasis of your body. It increases the volume of your blood, which affects blood pressure and heart rate. Water also dissolves gasses in the body and provides an efficient exchange and transport of oxygen and carbon dioxide throughout the body. When you get dehydrated these essential functions get thrown out of whack.
Iced water is best but there are other other kinds of beverages that can also help maintain your hydration levels:
- Fruit-infused water
- Fruit juice
- Tea
- Coconut water
- Sports drinks
Even eating slices of watermelon can help keep your body replenished. One very important thing to keep in mind: do NOT depend on coffee to keep you hydrated. Coffee is a diuretic which can dehydrate you rapidly. You can still drink your daily cup of joe but make sure to bookend it with tall glasses of water to stay on an even keel.
Hello, Darkness, My Old Friend
An easy way to keep cool while you’re at home is to turn off your lights when you don’t need them. Lightbulbs—both incandescent and some varieties of LED bulbs—produce heat. Some plugged-in lamps and electronic devices can give off heat even when they’re powered off because they’re drawing electricity from the outlet. Unplugging electronics you’re not using and keeping off unnecessary lights will help keep your home cooler (and help lower that high summer electric bill).
Another simple way to stay cool indoors is to use window treatments such as blinds, drapes, and curtains. Keeping these drawn shut on hot days will keep the sunlight from heating up the interior of your home. The key, as with so many things, is moderation. Studies show that your brain produces more serotonin—a positive mood-enhancing chemical—on sunnier days, and exposure to sunlight also helps the body produce the essential nutrient Vitamin D. While avoiding too much exposure to the sun is a good thing, you don’t want to live like a vampire either.
Dress For (Sweaty) Success
Your body absorbs and vents heat throughout the day. That’s why you want to adorn it with clothes that help you regulate your body temperature and offer you adequate protection from the sun’s rays. Here’s a few general clothing pointers:
- Wear light colors. Dark ones absorb more heat.
- Loose-fitting clothes circulate more air around your body.
- Textured fabrics like oxford and linen allow more air to pass between your clothes and skin.
- If you’re going to wear a hat, go for wide/long brims to block out the sun’s glare and protect your face from sunburns. But it's usually good to keep your head uncovered: it's the point in your body where the most heat escapes. A densely knit hat gets in the way of that.
- It may feel strange to carry an umbrella in the summertime, but it provides portable shade that goes wherever you do!
- Sunglasses are stylish but more importantly protect your eyes from UV rays.
Peak Hours
When it comes to staying cool, avoiding the sun during its peak hours is a reliable way to keep cool. The sun burns brightest in the afternoon, so anytime from noon to 4 p.m. is going to be a little toasty. If you have to do errands or like working out outdoors, you’re best-off handling those things as early in the day as you can manage to avoid that midday spike in temperatures.
Freeze Your Sheets
Another simple trick to staying cool: try refrigerating your bedsheets! Stick your sheets in the fridge or freezer for half an hour before you sleep to give yourself a cool, relaxing layer of heat protection to sleep on. You can also get soft gel/ice packs to place under your sheets or to tuck between your knees. Just make sure to wrap the packs in thin towels (like tea towels) so you don't get too icy.
Under Pressure
Your body has certain "hot zones" that can heat up quickly. Try applying an ice pack or a bottle full of iced water to these pressure points to give you some serious fast-acting heat relief:
- Ankles
- Behind the knees
- Wrists
- Elbow bends
- Neck
- Temples
Fire and Ice
This final tip is going to sound counterintuitive, but the science is sound: spicy food can cool you down. The key is the sweat: if you eat spicy foods that trigger a sweating reaction it will cool you down, as sweat is our body's most effective self-cooling mechanism. So, if eating a plate of hot wings makes you sweat like you’re on the witness stand, you’re in luck! Pile on that sriracha and cool yourself down by setting your tongue on fire.
Article by Austin Brietta