12 Tips on Staying Cool This Summer

staying cool this summer
Artwork courtesy of @ZHKDesigns.

The scorching summer sun is a nightmare for everyone. The heat, sweat, and dehydration saps off people’s energy. The heat starts to affect their work, health, and mind. Cooling fans are not enough to cool someone down, and turning on air conditioners increase electricity bills. 

To beat the heat and save those bills, here are some simple and inexpensive tips for staying cool during the summer.

1. Cotton Clothes are a Blessing

Cotton clothes and bedsheets are breathable, making it easy for air to flow through a person’s body. Clothes made of silk or polyester increase body temperature and make us feel hotter. 

So, to stay cool during the summer, people should switch their thick clothes for lighter cotton clothes.

2. Regular Showers

Regular showers during the summertime can help a person’s body cool down. To gain maximum satisfaction from a regular shower, it is advisable to start the shower at a warm temperature and gradually move towards a cooler temperature near the end. 

According to faveable.com, this will not only cool a person’s body but will also help them to wake up properly in the morning.

Regular showers also require good body washes to properly cool down a person’s body. Some inexpensive body washes not only keep a person cool but also hydrate their bodies. 

3. Cleansing, Toning, and Moisturizing

The summer heat does not just wear down a person’s body. The sweat and oil caused by the heat can cause a person’s facial pores to become clogged, make the skin oily, and darken the skin tone. 

Hence, a person must change their summer routine by cleansing, toning, and moisturizing their face at least twice a day. These simple steps not only help one to cool off but also prevent the skin from damage. 

Toners can help to remove the extra oil and also keep the skin cool during the summer. Before buying a toner, you should always check the package for ingredients which suit your skin.

4. Keep the Lights Off

Electric lights emit a lot of heat, which increases the temperature. This adds up to the already excruciating summer heat, making one feel hotter and sweatier. To keep yourself cooler, it is advisable to keep the electric lights off as much as possible and open the windows to let the air in.

If someone really needs the lights, they can opt for flashlights instead. It saves up on electricity bills and does not warm up the temperature. 

5. Ponytails are the Trend

Summer heat also harms the hair. Keeping one’s hair down will make them feel hotter and sweat more. Tying up long hair into a ponytail keeps the neck area cool, and the scalp does not sweat as much. 

Also, the hair should be washed regularly to get rid of the dirt and oil from the scalp. Otherwise, the hair will dry up and become dehydrated during the summer.

6. Opting for Summer Clothes

During the summer, one should change their wardrobe and opt for flip flops, tank tops, skirts, etc. instead of thicker clothes. Moreover, light-colored clothes keep people cooler than dark colored clothes. 

Hence, no matter how much one loves the dark-colored thick clothing piece, it should be locked away during the summer.

7. Fruits & Light Snacks

Summertime not only requires a change in wardrobe but also change in diet. People who eat a lot of heavy food and fast food will find that they sweat more than others. So, they need to switch to fruits and light snacks which have high mineral value. 

Fruits like apples have high water levels as well, which can also hydrate the body. Hence, changing the diet during summer can also cool people down.

8. Let the Breeze In

As much as people love their privacy by keeping the doors and windows closed, the closed spaces become stuffy during summer. This only increases the heat inside, making people feel hotter and sweat more. 

Hence, people should keep their windows open during the summer to let the breeze in. The air flowing through the room can cool the body and help beat the summer heat.

9. Get Cold Feet

A very simple yet underrated method to keep the body cool is to get cold feet, literally! Before going to bed, one should soak their feet in cold water. The pulse points at the feet feel cooler and the relief spreads throughout the body as well. 

People should keep a bucket of water near their bed during summertime so that whenever they feel hot, they can dunk their feet into the cool liquid for instant relief from the heat.

10. Sleeping Alone

Although many people love to cuddle up in their partner’s arms, the same gesture can be a cause of irritation during the summertime heatwave. The heat emitted from another person’s body will only make one feel hotter and uncomfortable during the night. At times, sleeping alone is a good option.

By sleeping alone, a person has the freedom to stretch more and also feel the light night breeze more. This will keep them cool throughout the night.

11. Getting Lower

People who sleep on higher floors or have higher beds feel hotter than those who live on lower floors. So, during the summer, one way to keep cool is to set the mattress closer to the ground or even sleep on the ground. 

People who live in multi-story buildings can opt to sleep on the lower floors.

12. Hydrate

Lastly, this is the most obvious tip: hydrate. Summer heat sucks out all the water from people’s bodies. People who do not drink enough water during summer feel lethargic, constantly sweat, and their bodies grow weaker due to the heat. 

So, people should drink an ample amount of water every day to keep their bodies hydrated and cool. Keeping a water bottle at hand all the time will be useful for keeping people hydrated. 

People who want to keep track of how much water to drink can choose fruit infuser water bottles which hold at least one liter of water in them. These keep easy track of how much a person is drinking every day. 

Finally

With the summer heat riling up people’s nerves during their busy lives, many tend to neglect their health. Staying cool during summer is important because the body can overheat and become exhausted. This will only make people sicker and less motivated to continue their regular lifestyle.

Hence, people should take great care to keep themselves cool and not let the summer heat wear them down. Therefore, people should follow these steps to stay cool and fit during the summer.

By Brown Girl Magazine

Brown Girl Magazine was created by and for South Asian womxn who believe in the power of storytelling as a … Read more ›