10 Tips to Beat the Heat

10 Tips to Beat the Heat

1. Stay out of the sun. If you have to be outside, take precautions. Wear protective clothing, sunscreen, and seek shade whenever possible.

2. Keep your internal body temperature cool by drinking cold water with ice or a frozen drink like a slushie.

3. Skip your outdoor exercise session – head to the air-conditioned gym or skip your workout all together.

4. Avoid heat exhaustion by taking it easy and knowing the signs of overheating: feeling faint, dizzy, clammy, and weak. When you get overheated, your body stops sweating. When you don’t sweat, you can’t stay cool.

5. Over hydrate before heading outside. Drink much more than you think you need and don’t leave the house without a cold water bottle; freeze it before leaving to keep it cool longer.

6. Draw the drapes or window coverings in your house to keep the temperature down.

7. Keep pets inside. They are less able to handle the heat than we are.

8. Use fans and the air-conditioning – if ever there was a time for these things, it’s now. But turn off lights, unplug appliances, and avoid running the dishwasher or washer/dryer while doing so. Energy demands are high right now – use it wisely.

9. Check in on elderly neighbors, parents, and grand-parents. Older people are especially vulnerable to the heat.

10. If you start to feel nauseous, vomit, have blurred vision, or get muscle cramps, see a doctor right away — these could be signs of heat stroke, a major medical emergency.