subject: Don't Let The Summer Heat Get You Down [print this page] Don"t Let Summer Heat Get You Down
Back in the days before air conditioning was invented and became standard in most households, people knew how to make the best of the heat and keep themselves safe. These days, that knowledge is no longer as common as it used to be. People have forgotten the value of a shady porch with a white rocking chair and a glass of ice-cold water or lemonade. Every summer hundreds of people have to go to the hospital because of heat-related conditions.
Ways To Keep Your Cool
There are many things that you can do to make sure that you are not one of these hospitalized people. While staying out of the sun is great advice, many people take it the wrong way. Staying inside if you have no air conditioning can be madness. There is typically very poor air circulation indoors, and heat builds up very quickly in a house or apartment when the sun is beating down on it.
Refresh Yourself with a Breeze
Instead of relying on fans in your windows to keep you cool, why not find a shady spot outside? If your house or apartment does not have a shaded porch, local parks usually have plenty of shade-providing trees or pavilions. Get creative in finding shaded places to hang out during the day where you will be protected from the sun"s relentless rays""look for nature trails, bus stops, public benches . . . anything you can find.
Water: Your New Best Friend
In addition to staying out of the sun on really hot days, it is important that you stay hydrated. Sweating is one of the ways your body stays cool naturally, but if you sweat too much without taking in enough water, you are putting your health at risk. Dehydration can happen very quickly, and it can easily be lethal. Wherever you go to escape summer"s wrath, make sure that if there are no water fountains nearby you bring your own supply to drink.
Additionally, there are ways that you can prevent your body from losing so much water through sweat. There is a reason the swimming pool is such a popular place during the summer""cool water helps lower your body"s temperature more efficiently than anything else. But going to the pool every day can get very expensive, even if you buy a season pass, so it is a good idea to use water to cool yourself in other ways too.
For example, you could install a water misting system around your porch. Many of these systems have fans to distribute mist more evenly. Some even let you control the amount of mist created. Quality misting systems can be purchased online at coolingline.com and rapidcool.com. If these are out of your price range, you can even buy simple water bottles with misting nozzles at most hardware stores. Either way, spraying yourself with mist will have the same cooling effect on your body as sweat does, and will help slow and prevent dehydration.
It"s Good To Relax
Another way to slow that rate at which your body loses water is to be as physically inactive as possible. When you move around or make your body do vigorous work, you encourage perspiration, and you raise your body"s temperature. Under normal conditions, this is a good thing, but if it is too hot outside, you can seriously hurt yourself. If you must work in the heat, be attentive to your body and watch for signs of heat stroke, like dizziness, nausea, and light-headedness, and stop if you feel any of them coming on.
The simpler days of lazy summers may be gone, but we can still learn a lot from them. If you cannot be in an air-conditioned place, keep these tips in mind and enjoy having an excuse to simply take it easy for once. There are plenty of activities that you can do while keeping cool, such as reading, knitting, or just having a conversation with a close friend.
by: Kimberly Aardal
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