With temperatures soaring this summer, it’s important to find tips to stay cool. While we often associate summer with picnics, ice creams, and camping trips, there’s one thing we often forget – the unpleasant humidity, difficulty staying cool and discomfort at night.
Heat can be a killer if you don’t take the necessary precautions, especially for children and the elderly. While some people can deal with warm temperatures better than others, we all risk dehydration, sunburn, and heat-related illnesses if we spend too much time in the sun. Here are PCC’s 5 tips to stay cool in summer to help you stay comfortable and safe in the summer months.
Drink, drink, drink
Unfortunately, this doesn’t mean alcoholic beverages! Drinking water is absolutely essential in order to stay cool in summer. If you’re exercising or losing a lot of sweat, isotonic (sports drinks) are great to replenish any lost minerals or sodium. Remember that alcohol dehydrates you, so if you’re enjoying a cocktail or two, be sure to increase your water intake to avoid dehydration, migraines or illness. If you get bored of plain water, why not add lemon or cucumber to make a tasty flavored water instead?
Take a cold shower
A cold shower is an extremely effective and refreshing way to help you stay cool in summer. If you can’t handle the cold for TOO long, why not blast yourself with the cold tap just before getting out to bring down your core body temperature instead? A cold shower before bed is also a nice way to keep you feeling cool & comfortable throughout the night.
Invest in a fan
If you don’t have air conditioning in your home (because let’s face it, how many people do?!) investing in a fan is the next best thing. A fan is a great way to keep cool at night, but also whilst you’re doing other hot and sweaty activities around the house, such as cooking, cleaning or ironing.
Ice pack your wrists
One sure way to bring down your body temperature is to hold an ice pack against your wrist, or simply run your wrists under the cold tap. Doing this cools the blood in your veins and instantly helps you to feel cooler. Splashing your face with cold water or spraying your feet with cold water works like a treat too (and it also prevents smelly feet in summer)!
Get loose
Wearing loose clothing definitely, helps you to keep your cool. Pick soft, cotton materials and avoid clothing that may show off any sweat marks. It happens to all of us, but it’s always nice to avoid any unsightly sweat patches!
NEVER leave children or pets in a closed vehicle
This may not be a tip to keep yourself cool, but it IS a tip to help keep your family and pets safe. Leaving your children and pets in a closed vehicle without any windows open is extremely dangerous, even just for a few minutes. If you don’t believe us, why not check out this VancityBuzz video that shows exactly what happens when pets are inside cars for 30 minutes (SPOILER: temperatures can reach up to 58 degrees!!!).
