Staying Cool During a Hot Summer

Staying Cool During Summer is Essential

We are having the hottest summer in recorded history with millions of people under heat advisories month after month. Summer is wonderful with its warm weather, but it is also true that too much of a good thing is not healthy. Whether you spend time indoors mostly this summer or have job outside in the elements, we have some personal cooling tips that have helped our team stay cool and more comfortable at home and at work this summer that we are sharing with you today.

Summer is probably one of everyone’s favorite seasons for so many reasons so let’s help you keep cool and comfortable while enjoy the best of summer. Some of our hints that we will share you probably have heard of before, but others were new to us and we found that they worked well to cool our bodies down when both inside and outside during hot weather. Enjoying the summer weather is great, but too much sun can lead to not feeling your best and even heat stroke.

Small Meals Are Easier on Your Body When It’s Hot

Keeping your core temperature cooler during hot weather helps you feel cooler and safer. One of the best ways to do this is eating smaller meals during the day and choosing cooling foods such as cucumbers, watermelon, salad, and eating many vegetables and fruits.

During the summer I keep cut up watermelon in the refrigerator to nimble on during the day. Watermelon is very hydrating and has a high-water content, has antioxidants, and also amino acids that help replenish your body when it’s hot. Watermelon can help digestion, can protect our body from inflammation, can improve circulation, and so much more. I also keep lemon juice on hand to make our own lemon popsicles, they are so easy! See the recipe below!

We have such good fruits and vegetables available that keeping your refrigerator stocked to easily create a green salad or fruit salad is easy. Cottage cheese is a great staple to have on hand in the summer and can add protein to any meal. Cottage cheese is not only good for fruit salads, but makes a delicious keto-friendly bread and also ice cream. I keep it on hand for the basis for my banana bread, chicken enchiladas, and a whole lot more!

Hydrate all Day Long

When it’s hot we sweat, southerners are used to the combination of hot and humid weather, but this year has taken it to extremes even for them. Your body’s natural way to cool down is to perspire, but perspiration lowers our hydration and a lot of perspiration or heat will help deplete your electrolytes. It’s important to stay hydrated throughout the day by drinking lots of liquids. Water is just one way to stay hydrated, drinking fruit infused water actually hydrates your body better because low amounts of sugar in water lets your body absorb the water better. 

Fruit or vegetable infused water is easy to make and have on hand, just slice a lemon, cucumber, an orange, or strawberries and put it in a container of water in the refrigerator for a few hours and then decant to your favorite travel bottle.

I have a non-BPA travel bottle and I fill it with my favorite liquid and freeze it when it’s hot and then I put it in our travel cooler and it stays frozen for hours. It’s a great trick if you’re going for a walk in hot weather or if you are playing sports to keep you cool when it’s hot. We make sure we bring this along for soccer and football practice, hydrating is essential in hot weather for kids and adults alike.

How to Dress for Heat

What you wear during a hot day can make so much difference in how you feel and think. Choose loose, light-weight, breathable fabrics such as linen and cotton instead of synthetics. Polyester, rayon, modal, or spandex and blends of these synthetic fabrics tend to trap the heat in our bodies, not allowing our bodies to breath and cool down naturally.

If you are a woman, free-floating dresses give lots of air flow. No matter what your gender, staying away from form-fitting clothing when it’s hot is best. Fabrics that breathe are cotton and linen. Pairing up light layers that you can deconstruct during the day let s you be most adaptable.

Hats in hot weather or great, but as with clothing keeping them light and airy is best. If you like ball caps, just make sure they aren’t really tight. Ball caps can be dunked in water and then worn, which helps your body cool down. You can also put ice cubes in your ball cap and let them gently cool you as they melt.

A bandana or scarf soaked in water or rolled with ice cubes inside makes for a great cooling device especially is you are working or playing outdoors. Remember is you have to be outside to seek out shade whenever possible so you don’t overheat.

Cold Showers, Sprinklers & Other Cooling Tips

If you don’t have a pool, a cold shower any time of the day is a great cool down. If you want to learn about the benefits of cold showers or cold baths, just search for the Wim Hof Method and you will see a lot of information about the benefits of cold showers and plunges. Running through the sprinklers isn’t just for kids, it’s a great way to play with your dogs and cool them down at the same time, plus it brings out the kid in you and cools you down at the same time!

Patio umbrellas are great, but personal umbrellas keep you cooler in the summer also. We have installed misters under our umbrellas on the deck and what a difference they make in how hot it feels when the temperature goes up! Misters are great to install on the south or west facing side of your house and a quick DIY project, under the eaves to cool down your house after the sun has gone down.

Beware of Pavement & Car Temperatures

If you think it’s hot outside, the pavement gets much hotter and retains heat much longer. Be careful with your children going barefoot and also your dogs and cats on pavement in the summer. Paw burns are no small issue. There are booties made for every size dog that protects their feet from hot pavement and also ice and snow during the winter and is a great investment in your pet’s health.

Remember if it’s 90 degrees outside it can be over 130 degrees easily in your car. Never leave animals, children, or the elderly in the car while you make a quick trip in the store, tragedy can happen so quickly. If you have to bring your pets along keep the air conditioning and your car running while you make a quick run into the store.

3 Ingredient Lemon Popsicles

This is one of our favorite treats during the summer and they are so easy and inexpensive to make. The following recipe is for 8 popsicles, all you need is the mold.

Ingredients:

• 1/3 cup lemon juice
• 1/4 cup white granulated sugar
• 2 cups cold water

Directions:

• In large mixing bowl combine the lemon juice and sugar, stir until it forms a syrup.
• Pour the water into the mixture and mix well
• Pour the mixture into the popsicle molds and freeze for at least 3 hours

Keeping It All Cool

Starting with the beginning of summer our family keeps spray bottles in the refrigerator with water blended with some of our favorite essential oils. It’s great way to cool down during the day and the spray bottle can easily be packed into your travel cooler during the day to keep you cool. Try storing your lotions and toner in the refrigerator during the summer too, it makes them a cooling treat for your face and body during hot weather.

If you don’t have air conditioning, using box fans in front of windows when it cools down is a great way to cool down your house. During the day you can put a bowl of ice in front of a box fan and the cool breeze will help bring down the temperature of your room. We have a fan on our back deck and also our front deck that we run on summer nights when it’s hot and we want to cool down. The outdoor fan cools you and also keeps mosquitos away-which allows us to enjoy the outdoors more.

Summer is a great time for DIY projects and be sure to check out a lot of our new items on Shed Windows and More that will have your DIY project finishing great and for less money.