Summer is the warmest season of the year. It is the time that most people go for breaks and vacations to have fun with family, relatives, colleagues, and friends.
During summer, you can go for pool parties and picnics as you enjoy ice-creams and watermelon.
Even though basking under the sun for relaxation feels enjoyable, keeping cool is still essential for your health. Exposure to extreme heat can be dangerous to pregnant women, older and younger people, and those with health complications.
Here are 11 tips for keeping cool as you enjoy summertime.
1. Enjoy Summer by Participating in Indoor Activities
From 11 am to 3:30 pm, the outside temperature can be stifling. To stay cool and away from the harsh sun, you can either choose to stay indoors or visit locations with good air conditioning.
If you want to enjoy your summer cheaply, visit a nearby library to study or go for a mall walk. You can invite friends to your home or visit their homes and play indoor games such as chess, draft, pool, and table tennis. You can also go for lunch dates with your friends, watch movies, or visit a museum.
2. Make Arrangements Before Summer Arrives
Planning on how to live during summer will save you from experiencing heat-related illness. Before stepping out for your summer vacation or picnic, it is important you research on the following:
• What is the predictable temperature outside? • Are there shades to protect you from the sun? • How long are you planning to stay outside during summertime?
It is also important to know that protection from summer heat doesn’t not only come from structured buildings. Put on your hut and carry with you your umbrella.
3. Find Out Places with Protection Shades
If you plan to be out for a little longer, find out whether your preferred destinations have shades, such as a covered picnic environment or trees. Most importantly, if a nearby building has good air conditioning, set times always to step in to cool down.
The choice of clothes can also determine how you feel about your summer holidays. Light-colored clothes are the best if you want to stay cooler.
Avoid dark-colored clothes at all costs; they will absorb heat against your body. Light-colored garments will keep you cooler and more relaxed by reflecting the sun.
4. Stay Wetter
Heat disappears from the body through the skin, the largest organ of the body, making you feel unbearable heat. Cooling down your skin is very important.
While basking in the hot weather may seem enjoyable, swamping your clothes and keeping them highly wet can be effective. Consider a cool shower or buy a cooling machine if you can't walk around in wet clothes. When you feel your body is hitting up, you can quickly cool it down by dipping your feet and hands in cold water.
5. Drink A lot of Water
When the temperature is hot, you will sweat and lose a lot of liquids, and you will need to drink a lot of water and avoid dehydration. Dehydration has symptoms that include: dry mouth, confusion or dizziness, and subsequent headaches. If not monitored, dehydration can cause heat exhaustion.
During summer, it is recommended that you avoid caffeine and instead drink an isotonic sports drink that can replenish the lost sugar, salt, and fluids.
6. Take Caution When Doing Your Exercise
Before and after any physical exercise, ensure you drink a lot of water. When you go for an activity that lasts for less than 1 hour, make water your ideal drink. Consider drinking fluids containing sodium and carbohydrates to replenish the lost electrolytes and glucose.
Before exercising under heat, begin in a cooler environment to establish your baseline fitness level. Then gradually increase your exercise time as you transition to the hotter environment.
Ensure you take break intervals as you adhere to cooler measures like ice towels.
7. Make Sure Your Home is Cool
During the warm season, it is necessary to keep your home cool, a place you can take refuge when outside is hot. Keeping your home cool will allow you to enjoy summer without struggling with excessive heat.
It may seem a good idea to open your doors and windows during the summer – the opposite is better. Keeping your doors and windows closed will ensure that the hot air stays out and the cool one stays in.
You can open your windows and doors in the evening when the hot temperate has gone down to allow cool and fresh air to circulate.
Check on the home’s lighting system. Some LED bulbs and incandescent produce much heat while lighting your home. You may have installed them during winter to warm your house ¬– but when it is summer, you only need light, not heat.
You can also consider switching the bulbs only when you need light; other times, you may use other light sources, such as your phone’s flashlight.
