Here are 20 ways to stay cool

Hot enough for you? Your response during this summer’s heat waves may be a resounding “Heck yeah.” Excessive heat can be very uncomfortable, making you feel like a baked potato who also sweats. But it can also be quite dangerous, leading to heat cramps, rashes, exhaustion or stroke, and aggravating other medical conditions. So it is important to keep a cool head – both literally and physically – when it gets too hot. Here are 20 ways to do this:

1. Drink a lot of water: Don’t rely on your thirst to make you drink water. Your thirst may be like that friend who only tells you something after it’s become glaringly obvious, like, “You’ve passed out.” Maybe it’s time for a drink.” Instead, build in water breaks throughout the day.
2. Eat foods with high water content: Another way to stay hydrated is to eat foods that retain a lot of water. And no, a juicy rib eye steak wouldn’t qualify. Foods high in water content include various vegetables such as cucumbers, tomatoes, watercress, lettuce, celery and zucchini and various fruits such as apples, watermelons and peaches. Soups and broths also have a high water content, because you use water to make them.
3. Limit your caffeine intake: However, not all liquids are good in the heat. Caffeine is a diuretic, which makes you urinate more and therefore lose water. That is one of the reasons why professional football players do not drink coffee and soft drinks on the sidelines.
4. Limit your alcohol consumption: Alcohol can also make you urinate more, as evidenced by long bathroom lines at nightclubs. This is due to the fact that alcohol reduces your body’s production of antidiuretic hormone. Additionally, your body has several natural ways to regulate your body temperature, such as dilating blood vessels to release heat. And as you may have experienced, alcohol can mess up a lot of things, including these temperature-regulating mechanisms.
5. Avoid heavy meals: Yes, if someone asks if you exercised today, it doesn’t count to say you digested a meal three times. Nevertheless, digestion can really put your body to work and generate heat.
6. Avoid the sun: You may not be a vampire, but staying out of the sunlight can keep you from roasting like a chicken on a spit. When you’re outside, seek the shade and be Pharell, which means wearing wide-brimmed hats like Pharrell Williams does.
7. Wear loose and light-colored clothing with breathable fabrics: This isn’t the time to wear that Batman costume, unless of course you’re Batman. Choose looser clothing – loose in the physical, not moral, sense – which can provide more ventilation. Avoid dark clothing that can absorb more heat from the sun. Opt for outfits made from cotton and linen instead of leather or latex, especially if you’re meeting your potential in-laws for the first time.
8. Wear a wet T-shirt: This is another thing you may not want to wear when meeting your potential in-laws for the first time. Otherwise, soaking a T-shirt in water and wearing it on your skin without anything else can help cool you down.
9. Go natural: Why bother with the clothes at all? Going naked can give you maximum ventilation and cooling. Oh, that’s right, your roommates, people at work and, yes, your legal potential may not appreciate this – or maybe they will – when they’re around you. Practical and legal reasons may therefore ensure that you do not remain completely naked all the time. Regardless, you can still try to keep as much of your body as possible, such as your face, neck, arms, legs, and feet, uncovered, free of clothing and other things like heavy makeup.
10. Take a cold (but not too cold) shower: This can help in several ways when you are in heat. Make sure the water is not too cold to handle.
11. Use a water mist or spritzer: Showering is not always practical, for example if you are sitting in your cabin at work. But you can cover yourself with a cold water mist from a mist machine or a spray bottle.
12. Use cold compresses: You can buy these or make them in a do-it-yourself way, that is, do it yourself, by soaking a towel, sock or other cloth item with cold water or filling it with ice. Apply the compress to anything that feels warm, such as your face, neck, wrist and other nice or less nice places. Do not apply ice directly to your skin as this can cause damage such as frostbite.
13. Immerse your body in water or go swimming: This should be in a safe location and not somewhere like a polluted lake, turbulent rapids or the sink at the local restaurant.
14. Use air conditioning: On hot days, air conditioning can seem like your best friend, even though there are risks involved, which I recently covered Forbes.
15. Use fans: Even if you only have fans, moving air is still better than letting warm, moist air stand still. While electric fans may work best, just about anything that is light enough to lift and flat and wide enough to generate wind when you wave can become a fan. This could include sheets of paper, magazines, box lids, and any money you want to show your date. Just don’t wave something like a computer screen around that could hurt people.
16. Move your physical activity to cooler parts of the day: Move your physical activity from the middle of the day, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., when it is hottest. This means exercising in the late afternoon, evening, night or, gasp, early in the morning.
17. Take regular breaks: Do not continue to exercise, work or exert yourself in any way without regularly taking sufficient time to rest, cool down and drink water.
18. Turn off heat-generating equipment: Put that laptop away. Air dry your clothes instead of running the dryer. Make a salad instead of using the oven to bake that hot dog casserole. Wash your dishes by hand instead of using the dishwasher. If it buzzes and has an electrical cord, you may want to leave it turned off.
19. Keep your bed cool: Before use, consider putting your pillows, sheets, comforter, life-size Harry Styles doll, and anything else you sleep with in the refrigerator or freezer to keep them nice and cool. However, don’t do this with your partner as he or she may not appreciate being left in the refrigerator.
20. Avoid stress and practice mindfulness: Your mind and body are indeed connected. Anger, nervousness, frustration, and other intensely negative feelings can leave your body less equipped to handle the heat – both physical and emotional.

Finally, look for signs of heat-related problems. This includes thirst, dry mouth, heavy sweating, decreased urine output, darkening of your urine, lightheadedness, lightheadedness, headache, changes in skin color, fatigue, anxiety, or other changes in mental status. Seek immediate medical attention if you are confused, have had seizures, or have lost consciousness. If you are still unconscious, you will obviously need someone else to take you to a medical professional. That’s why, when it’s hot, it’s a good idea to stay in touch with friends and family. Have them visit you regularly if you are particularly sensitive to heat. They need to make sure that when they ask, “Hot enough for you,” you can actually give an answer.