How do you Beat The Heat?

[michealsmells]

Howdy dowdy folks! It's currently 109⁰F (42⁰C) out here in ol' California, with a daily high of 115⁰ (46⁰C). Our yearly heat wave decided to come late this year, yippee.

When it's hot out for you, what do you do to beat the heat? Reasonable heat over here makes me crave ice cream, otter pops, and lots of water. I like to stay inside, but I'll occasionally bask for that sweet sweet Vitamin D.

Heat like this makes me wanna curl up inside with some iced coffee, maybe playing some games, the fan blasting. Still drinking lots of water of course!

Tell me how you beat the heat. I need suggestions, and a distraction from this

 

[Midoriya]

Well, first you got to draft some good players. Then you've got to get them some experience in some games. It's going to take awhile, but eventually you'll have enough talent on your team to where you can make it into the playoffs. Then you need to make it to the NBA Finals and face the Miami Heat, and you'll have what it takes to "Beat The Heat." /jk

I usually just stay inside and drink lots of water. : P

 

[Mairmalade]

I'll usually take a cold shower and stay inside for the most part (also echoing drinking lots of water and eating ice cream,) or jump in an outdoor fountain if I'm out and there's one nearby.

I don't get to go often, but if I'm off work and someone else is going, I love hot days when I'm able to go to the beach. Nothing beats the heat quite like the ocean.

edit: forgot to add - face masks are great too! I use these ones from Amazon. You can find something similar elsewhere depending on where you like to shop.

 

[Pyoopi]

Yikes, what part of California are you located in? It's the mid 90s here in SoCal.

I usually lounge in front of lots of fans. I have an array of fans but I have something like this:

It helps but you have to refill it often.

If you have a little spray bottle, you can fill it with water and spritz it on yourself.

 

[-Mars-]

Sit in the fans blasting on me with a cooling towel on my neck, get lots of cold drinks and water
sometimes I get an icepack if I really want
not much I can do.

 

[michealsmells]

Yikes, what part of California are you located in? It's the mid 90s here in SoCal.

I usually lounge in front of lots of fans. I have an array of fans but I have something like this:

It helps but you have to refill it often.

If you have a little spray bottle, you can fill it with water and spritz it on yourself.

NorCal.... how is it only mid 90s for you wahhh. That little fan looks WONDERFUL. I'd ADORE something like that.

I'm home from school and got a milkshake, changed into the lightest clothes I could, and am now resting. Thinking good thoughts about air conditioning and power functioning.

 

[nightglow]

Cold drinks. Usually we have some sort of lemonade thing on hand in the summer which is always great on a hot day with ice. I'm usually inside, but if your outside and really hot, putting feet in water really helps me cool down (note that I am one of those people who like feet outside of the blanket at night so "I can breathe" lol ).
Slushies are nice and not heavy like ice cream is but they have a lot of sugar.

Without limitations, iced matcha latte from Dunkin doughnuts with oat milk. Those are cold and make me pee which is great if you tend to hold water in the warm months.

 

[daringred_]

i don't, normally. unlike everyone else i know, i'm generally quite resistant to the heat -- although this isn't always a good thing. during our recent heatwave, when it was 34C+, i ended up with heat exhaustion before i could realize because i didn't feel overly hot. unless it's over 30C, i don't really have to do anything other than have the fan on in my room. when it is, however, my go-to is to fill a tub up with cold water and rest my feet in it; my mom says it doesn't work for her, but it usually makes me at least a little cooler. alternatively, a cold, damp flannel on the back of my neck. this last heatwave, i actually froze flannels (completely wrong, no doubt, since they went hard lmao) and then placed them on my head, where they thawed out and softened. great stuff. splashing or spraying yourself with cold water and then standing directly in front of a fan is bliss.

yes, i know, these temperatures seem paltry compared to yours, but considering that the culture and climate in the uk are different -- our main problem is the humidity, we are not acclimated to the heat, and most of our houses a) don't have air conditioning and b) are built to keep heat in -- it honestly probably isn't far off.

 

[Xara]

the summer heat has been absolutely brutal where i live. i can’t wait for temperatures to start dropping tbh... have never been more excited for fall and winter in my life. i don’t fare well in even mild heat, so i definitely stay home on hot days if i can. i’ll usually just sit in front of my fan or in the living room/my dad’s room (the coolest rooms in my apartment) and watch something, fool around on my phone, play a game etc to distract myself, but sometimes i’ll take an ice cold shower if the heat’s really getting to me. if i’m too fatigued to do that, an ice pack or even a face mask like @/Mairmalade suggested also works! i make sure to stay as hydrated as possible as well, and wear light, comfy clothes.

 

[Foreverfox]

The quickest way to cool down is to get a cold compress onto your forearms. Your veins are closest to your skin there, so it will cool your blood down faster as it moves through your body.

 

[Croconaw]

I embrace it because I love the heat. I cool down with the air conditioner and drink ice cold drinks. I put all of my drinks in the freezer to get them slush-like. That’s when drinks are the best.

 

[Plume]

I spend most of my time inside in the air conditioning, but I'll carry a UV-blocking umbrella and wear light clothing and sunglasses if I need to walk somewhere. I usually splash cold water on myself and drink ice water when I come back in.

 

[Aniko]

I beat the heat with the heat, eating super spicy food that makes me sweat.
But this year it was rather cold, I think my neighbor could only enjoy his pool 2 or 3 days.

 

[michealsmells]

i don't, normally. unlike everyone else i know, i'm generally quite resistant to the heat -- although this isn't always a good thing. during our recent heatwave, when it was 34C+, i ended up with heat exhaustion before i could realize because i didn't feel overly hot. unless it's over 30C, i don't really have to do anything other than have the fan on in my room. when it is, however, my go-to is to fill a tub up with cold water and rest my feet in it; my mom says it doesn't work for her, but it usually makes me at least a little cooler. alternatively, a cold, damp flannel on the back of my neck. this last heatwave, i actually froze flannels (completely wrong, no doubt, since they went hard lmao) and then placed them on my head, where they thawed out and softened. great stuff. splashing or spraying yourself with cold water and then standing directly in front of a fan is bliss.

yes, i know, these temperatures seem paltry compared to yours, but considering that the culture and climate in the uk are different -- our main problem is the humidity, we are not acclimated to the heat, and most of our houses a) don't have air conditioning and b) are built to keep heat in -- it honestly probably isn't far off.

30C is a nice day outside for us here, but even around the states we have houses that trap heat. My sibling lives in a raised house that traps all the heat underneath it and keeps it warm (the ventilation is in the floor, it's a 100 year old house)
And DANG. That house gets SO hot before it even hits around 33C. Don't get me started on shoddy apartments with little to no air conditioning & the worst insulation possible, where heat comes straight in. A poorly (or too well insulated) house will just feel like an oven, and that's almost worse than direct radiated heat.
It is occasionally funny to make a "hehe the UK can't stand a little heat" joke here and there, but you're completely valid in finding ways to cool off when it's hot for you. It is a problem and people will get hurt without ways to combat it!

Everyone here is sharing some very good ideas!! I know I had a cooling towel around here somewhere, I should see if I can find it. It'd help a ton.

 

[Violet Witch]

Here in the UK when our heatwaves come they come around suddenly with no build up so you can't get used to the heat and because our homes are designed to retain heat they heat up quickly making it hard to get away from it all. This summer has been very warm to hot up until the middle of August and for me it was all about staying near fans when either at home or at work as air conditioning is non existent outside of commercial buildings like supermarkets and cinemas. Also I found drinking cold drinks and eating cold food like salads helped a lot as it meant not having to use the oven which would obviously make the house warmer. Plus keeping windows and curtains closed on certain sides of the house it's mostly exposed to the sun during the day and then opening them up at night to let the cool air in to cool the house down. Oh and putting your feet in cold water in the evening will bring your core body temperature down making it easier to sleep at night, that tip helped me out a lot when the temperature soared to 35 degrees and above last month.

 

[Neb]

I typically stay inside, close the blinds, and keep the air conditioning on. If I’m in the mood I also go out and get some cold brew.

 

[Kitsuragi]

i'm in the midwest where everyone is born in an ice pond and anything over 80 degrees Fahrenheit leads to complaining. i pay for my heating and cooling in my house so my ac stays CRANKED.
we lost power last week and could only power our refrigerator and freezers, so i stuck a couple blankets in big bags and shoved them into the freezer to keep them cold. we used to lose power a lot in detroit and thats what one of our neighbors suggested to keep cold, so we've been doing since i was a kid. works!

 

[-Raven-]

No offense but northern hemisphere folks talking about heat as if 90 f is an anomaly feels bizarre for me to look on. Australia has had 100-115f kinda heat for like, the last decade. That’s around the 40c range (+/- 2 or 3), so 34c being a heatwave also sounds bizarre. We were a canary in the coal mine here, it’s not surprising but is sad to see it spread.
How do I deal? Poorly honestly. With the way things are going, a large part of it is jusf getting used to the heat. Yes that’s not really a solution or help in itself, and honestly people probably realise this, but otherwise folks would be in for a surprise. If the weather ends up how it is down here you guys are just going to have the same problems we have had for years now.

I feel like I’m just complaining here (and this has become more “my experience with heat” than “how to deal”), but I’m used to summer being poor for me. Always wear sunscreen, get a sun parasol if you can (sounds hokey but genuinely helps when you can use it, feels like being under shade and stronger than generic umbrellas), stay IN with the A/C or a good fan on as constantly as possible. Towel trick and cold drinks help but you should do them expecting that they’re very temporary.
There’s no secret trick. Just get as much of the relief as possible. It’s best to try and work your schedule/do as many little things to keep you inside, around fans, wearing appropriate sun-blocking/airy clothing if you do walk, etc. If you have to work outside I’m honestly so sorry because I’ve dealt with that too and I think when taking on a job you do outdoors that dealing with heat is part of the work. And again. Wear sunscreen. It won’t make you cooler but it will help prevent your skin peeling from sunburn. Which I had ONCE and it REALLY HURT. So you prevent more heat-related pain.

If you have long hair then cutting it can also make a difference, honestly surprising just how much… but I love my hair and that outweighs the annoyance of the heat from it haha.

edit: I almost forgot but double-glazed windows can supposedly help. Now you can’t up and buy a new house on a whim, but getting the windows replaced might be more reasonable. There are even triple-glazed and beyond. They supposedly help with noise too. They famously help deal with cool weather, but research says they can help with heat too. To be honest, I wouldn’t actually know for sure, because houses down here don’t even have so much as double-glazing as a standard. Do your research on that if you think you would like something like that or have the means etc.

 

[Acruoxil]

I mean I can afford an air conditioner lmao so i just bask in its glory, haha

my ps5 doesn’t help at all tho

 

[Violet Witch]

No offense but northern hemisphere folks talking about heat as if 90 f is an anomaly feels bizarre for me to look on. Australia has had 100-115f kinda heat for like, the last decade. That’s around the 40c range (+/- 2 or 3), so 34c being a heatwave also sounds bizarre. We were a canary in the coal mine here, it’s not surprising but is sad to see it spread.

That's because 40c shouldn't be a temperature we should endure in the northern hemisphere but like Australia it's becoming easier to achieve extremely high temperatures every summer and the UK hit the 40c for the first time ever this year. Plus air conditioning in homes in those regions is a rarity because summers aren't usually so hot and for so long, like Western Europe experienced this year. Also it's ridiculously expensive to have installed and run on a regular basis, especially with energy prices on the rise. It's why when people from the UK and other European countries moan about not coping in the hot weather it's because we can't due to homes being designed to retain heat rather than do the opposite when a heatwave occurs. Climate change is here to stay and right now it sucks because the weather globally is going to get worse unless something is done about it. Otherwise get ready to hear more from people around the world struggling during extreme heatwaves, thunderstorms, torrential rain, tornadoes, hurricanes and blizzards when winter rolls around.

Anyway here's some more tips I came across online, whether or not they work is beyond me but they might come in handy for anyone enduring a heatwave right now.

- Put your bedding in the freezer an hour before bedtime, apparently cold sheets will help cool you down.
- Lift the loft (attic) hatch in the evening, this allows the hot air to rise up and cool lower levels of your home.
- Open windows in the evening/night when the air is cooler outside, also try to create a draft by opening a window on one side of the house and another on the opposite side to get that draft.
- Place a fan on a window-sill (facing outwards) and turn it on to push the hot air out of the room you're in to cool it down.