Because of this nice little article that I read recently--refer to http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-14252768 if curious--I think now would be a great time to share with y'all how you can survive when the temperature reaches 100 degrees. Mind you, the following advice will come as a no-brainer to some, but I'm doing it anyway.
- Stay indoors (if you can)
- Plan out your day accordingly If you've got some yard work that needs to be done, try to get it accomplished early in the day, and by that I mean before 10am. If you don't, the heat will have more than enough of a chance to build up, and by the time noon rolls around you can expect the heat to only get worse until after dusk is about to end.
- Water Don't drown yourself in the stuff, but drink plenty of it to keep your body hydrated. One of the reasons why people tend to die of heat stroke is because they didn't bother to drink enough water before doing something outside
- Wash your feet I know this one sounds like a weird one, but in my personal experience I have found that washing your feet actually does help cool your body down emmensly, even if only for a little while. The same effect can be said for washing your face, chest, and the back of your neck. Speaking of which...
- Wear your hair up The more you can get it off the back of your neck, the cooler you'll feel. If you find that you don't have a hair tie, do that girly thing some do and fluff out your hair every now and then. While driving you can actually bunch up your hair and hold it with the headrests in your car (if they're high enough) and let the air from your A/C hit you. Do not aim the A/C directly on your throat because this dries your mouth out. I don't know if this is true for everybody, but when I allow that to happen I usually end up with a cold, and who wants that during the summer?
- Wear a hat Shading your face aids with protecting your face from burning up too bad and makes it easier on your eyes when you're out and about. Just make certain that the hat you pick is one that can breath while you're at it
- Turn off unnecessary electrical appliances, especially lights. They can and will produce a little heat of their own and can make you feel uncomfortable in close quarters. The good thing about summer is that there's plenty of sun out, so you can just use that instead and adjust yourself accordingly. As an added bonus, it saves you money on your electric bill. Wile I'm on the topic, I'll also add to be cautious about were you set the A/C in your house. While some people do like to keep their homes at 60 (don't know why myself), bear in mind that you're taking a health risk factor by doing so when it's 100 outside. In short, you force your body to instantaneously adjust itself to the drastic change in climate, and the elderly in particular can't handle that kind of pressure. If you can manage, aim for somewhere between 75 to 80 degrees in the house.
There are other pointers of course, such as salty snacks being better for you than sugery ones when it's hot out, but I'm just going to end it here for today. For those suffering in this crazy summer, hang in there!
