It’s been – and continues to be – pretty darn hot in the Kansas City Metro area so far this summer, with multiple 80+ degree days, stifling humidity and a whole bunch of excessive heat warnings given out by the local weatherman at the end of the news every night. However, after months of lockdown most of us are still making sure we now get plenty of time outdoors.
Even if you minimize your time outside in the height of the heat, things can get sticky and nasty very quickly, spoiling some of that outdoor fun. With that in mind here are some tried and tested tips for staying cooler when out in the summer sun:
Stay Properly Hydrated
Most people know that staying hydrated in the heat is a must, not only for reasons of general comfort but for your health and safety as well. There are, however, right and wrong ways to go about doing so.
While a cold beer, a chilled wine cooler or a big container of iced coffee may sound very refreshing, they really aren’t in the longer term. Both caffeine and alcohol dehydrate the body, so they might taste cool going down, but they won’t help you stay that way. It’s far better to stick to water – or flavored water drinks if you really can’t stand too much of the plain stuff – if you want to avoid fatigue and dehydration this summer.
Dress Appropriately
No, you can’t wander around in swimwear all day, especially not at the office, but you can take a few tips from those who live in hotter climes twelve months of the year and lighten up your wardrobe sensibly during the summer months.
To stay cooler longer, keep your clothing as loose as possible and stay away from artificial fabrics like polyester or rayon and opt for cooling, open weave cotton instead. And yes, it’s not a myth, lighter colored clothing will keep you cooler than their dark counterparts. And if you can, whether you are a guy or a girl, wearing a hat in the heat can work cooling wonders.
We all know water is a great way to stay cool, but when a dip in a swimming pool isn’t possible and a cool shower is out of the question, for now, there are some there are clever ways to make a little cold water go a long way.
Trying dabbing a little cold water to the areas of your body where body where heat tends to gather, and also to pressure points where a little water will help cool your whole system. Your wrists, temples, elbows and joint creases are good places to start.
Prepare Your Homecoming
After a few hours in the sun chances are you’ll be more than ready to get back to your cool living room, take a comfy seat and sipp something cool. However, when you get home you realize that you turned the A/C down before you left to save energy – which is smart – but the whole place is a little warm and it’s going to take at least 15 minutes to get it back to being the cool oasis you’ve been imagining.
You can prevent all of this by installing, and making use of, a programmable thermostat. Set it to raise the temperature of your cooling system by a few degrees to save money about ten minutes after everyone leaves and then begin lowering it again 30 – 45 minutes before everyone is due home. This will give you the best of both worlds; sensible energy savings and a beautifully cool house to come home to after a long, sticky, Kansas City Metro summer day.
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