Tips for those without AC
- Wet your wrists and other pulse points with cold water. Use a piece of ice wrapped in a face cloth, to continue after the coolness wears off. Constantly cooling off the wrists will also cool off the body. Never use just ice; make sure it is wrapped in a towel or something similar. Studies show that this will reduce your core body temperature by as much as 3 °F (1.5 ºC). The relief is almost immediate, and will last for up to one hour!
- Use perspiration to cool the body down. The best thing to do is to put your sweaty self in the path of a cool breeze or fan.
- Drink water, even if you are not thirsty! You must replace fluids lost in perspiration to prevent dehydration. Oral re-hydration may be accomplished by drinking an electrolyte-balanced beverage. The electrolytes help to make sure you don’t lose vital minerals through sweating. Adding ice will also help cool you off. Avoid lemonade, iced tea, and other sugary drinks. Ice does not actually help you cool off if it is in water you will drink. Cool water does, but the colder the water the more energy your body spends making it body temperature so that it can use it.
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Avoid direct sunlight. Stay in a shaded area if possible. If you must go outdoors, go in the morning or evening. Wear clothes that cover up your body. It is better to wear a shirt with long sleeves and a collar to prevent any exposure.
- Go downstairs. Make your way to the basement or lower level. It will be cooler there.
- Keep the air flowing. Turn on the ceiling fan or box fan in the room. Do not make a fan out of paper and use it to wave air past your face and neck. Contrary to popular belief, the activity created by waving actually burns calories and raises your core temperature.
- Prepare your home against the heat. In the evening, open windows and use fans to create a cross-breeze, circulating cooler evening/night air through the rooms. As soon as the sun hits the building the next morning, close all windows, blinds, and curtains, and keep doors and windows closed throughout the day until it is cooler outside than it is inside. Then you can open everything up again and cool off to be prepared for the next day. Leaving kitchen cabinets open all night helps too; if you leave them closed, they store the heat and your house won’t cool off as much.
- Eat less. Smaller meals with less protein will reduce metabolic heat. Whatever you do eat should be cool and not require heat to be prepared (e.g. salads, sandwiches, etc.)
- Take off your shoes or hat while indoors! Much of the body’s heat is released through the soles of the feet, the palms of the hands, and the scalp. Keeping these areas cool makes a surprising difference.
- Sweat includes both water and salt from your body. If you are sweating a lot, it is actually healthier to drink something with salt or other electrolytes in it to replenish the lost salt as well as the lost fluid. Gatorade or other sports drinks are good to use for this. Soda usually has high sodium content as well, but may contain the diuretic of caffeine, which won’t hydrate you as well.
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