~angelpassion~
Well-Known Member
How to Cool Yourself Without Air Conditioning
Are you stuck on a sweltering summer day without air conditioning?
Here's how to cool yourself down before your body becomes overwhelmed
by the heat.
Steps
1- Hold ice or something frozen in your hand for as long as you can
stand it. Studies show that this will reduce your core body
temperature by as many as 3 degrees F. The relief is almost
immediate, and will last for up to one hour! Holding ice in your
hands for too long can also put you at risk for frost bite. If it
starts to hurt, stop!
2- Perspiration cools the body down. Water vapor produced by sweating
actually takes heat away from your body if it is exposed to air and
allowed to evaporate. The best thing to do is to put your sweaty self
in the path of a cool breeze or fan.
3- Drink water, even if you are not thirsty! You must replace fluids
lost in perspiration to prevent dehydration. Oral re-hydration may be
accomplished by drinking an electrolyte-balanced beverage. The
electrolytes help to make sure you don't lose vital minerals through
sweating. Adding ice will also help cool you off. Avoid lemonade,
iced tea, and other sugary drinks (see the Tips below). Ice does not
actually help you cool off if in water you will drink. Cool water
will, but the colder the water the more energy your body spends
making it body temperature so that it can use it.
4- Avoid direct sunlight. Stay in a shaded area if possible. Exposure
to direct sunlight increases the heat index, so that your body may
experience temperatures even higher than the air temperature! If you
must go outdoors, go in the morning or evening. Wear clothes that
cover up your body. A wide-brimmed hat is good. Light-weight, loose-
fitting cotton clothing should be worn. It is better to wear a shirt
with long sleeves and a collar to prevent any exposure. Some people
(eg Bedouins in the desert) believe it is even best to wear 2 or more
layers of clothes.
5- Go downstairs. Warm air is less dense than cooler air so it ends
up layered on top of the downward moving cooler air. If you're in a
house, for example, get lower than the roof. Make your way to the
basement or lower level. It will be cooler there. Position a fan in
an upstairs window to draw off heat collected in upper rooms--set it
up so that it sucks air from indoors and pushes it outdoors.
6- Keep the air flowing. Turn on the ceiling fan or box fan in the
room. DO NOT make yourself a fan out of paper and use it to wave air
past your face and neck. Contrary to popular belief, the activity
created by waving actually burns calories and raises your core
temperature.
7- Prepare your home against the heat. In the evening, open windows
and use fans to create a cross-breeze, circulating cooler
evening/night air through the rooms. As soon as the sun hits the
building the next morning, close all windows, blinds, and curtains,
and keep doors and windows closed throughout the day until it is
cooler outside than it is inside. Then you can open everything up
again and cool off to be prepared for the next day.
8- Turn off the stove and other sources of heat. Incandescent light
bulbs also create heat. Turn off your lamps, as well as your
computer.
9- Get wet! Take a cool shower or bath. Wet your hair. Fill a basin
with water and sit with your feet in it. Use a wet cloth to keep your
skin cool. Put a wet bandanna around your neck. Fill a spray bottle
or squirt gun with water and spritz yourself. Run cool or cold tap
water on the inside of your wrists. The water will cool down the
blood flowing through your veins and arteries.
10- Eat less. Smaller meals with less protein will reduce metabolic
heat. Whatever you do eat should be cool and not require heat to be
prepared (e.g. salads, sandwiches, etc.)
11- Try a few minty products to cool your skin: slather on lotion
with peppermint (avoid your face and eyes); shower with peppermint
soap; use a minty foot soak. Mint refreshes the skin and leaves a
nice cooling sensation.
12- Place a wet towel on the back of your neck and also the top of
one's head. Athletic team doctors have used this for years!
13- Take a glass and fill it almost to the brim with ice cubes. Then
hold it up to your mouth and blow gently into the cup. The ice causes
the air you are blowing into the cup to cool down drastically, and
since the air only has one way out of the up (the hole which should
now be aiming right at your face) the cold air is forced out over
your skin. This is a great alternative to air conditioning and is
very simple.
14- Try the yoga practice of shitali pranayama. Sit down cross legged
and take a few deep breaths, inhaling and exhaling slowly. Roll your
tongue into a tube with the tip outside the mouth. Continuing slow
deep breath, breath in through the tube and then move your chin to
your chest as you breath out through your nose. Do that 5-10 times
and you should start to feel cooler. Dogs often use their tongues to
cool themselves, perhaps this yoga practice comes from noticing that.
Tips
Don't forget that the human race lived for many, many years
without air conditioning. Within the limits of your particular health
situation, your body can adapt to the summer increase in temperature.
Just become accustomed to the fact that you may have to alter your
activities and schedule to 'beat the heat'.
*** Stock your freezer with flavored ice treats. Freeze a bag of
chopped fruit such as watermelon or pineapple. Cooling down can be a
tasty experience too!
*** If all else fails, go to the mall, library, church, movie
theater or some other air-conditioned public building.
*** Ladies: Try a slightly wet tissue in the cleavage. It's great
at preventing that annoying drip down the front of your clothing.
*** Apply a thin layer of vanishing cream to your freshly-washed,
dried face. Whether or not you have acne, the vanishing cream helps
to absorb facial perspiration and postpones the moment when your
glasses slip down your nose!
*** Fill your bath tub with cool water. Once you are used to the
temperature let some water out and refill with cold water. Keep doing
this until you are sufficiently cold. Your body will stay cool for a
long time after you get out.
*** Turn the heater on the waterbed off, let it cool. Lay down on
the surface of the waterbed. Even if its 85°F (29°FC) degrees, your
body is 98°F (37°C) , and the heat transfer rate for direct contact
is about 100 times larger than for convection. It will make you so
cold you will shiver.
*** Alcohol acts as a diuretic, which make you urinate more often
than usual. This promotes further dehydration through water loss.
Contrary to popular belief, caffeinated and sugary drinks can still
promote good hydration, although not as effectively as pure water.
*** If your garage is under living areas of your home, leave your
hot car outside to cool off before putting it in the garage.
*** Sweat includes both water and salt from your body. If you are
sweating alot, it is actually more healthy to drink something with
salt or other electrolytes in it to replenish the lost salt as well
as the lost fluid. Gatorade or other sports drinks are good to use
for this. Soda usually has a high sodium content as well, but may
contain the diuretic of caffeine which won't hydrate you as well.
*** Completely wet a synthetic or partially-synthetic T-shirt in
warm water and wear it (using warm water keeps the shirt from feeling
shockingly cold when you first put it on). The synthetic will ensure
no "wet T-shirt" look and the evaporation will keep you wonderfully
cool for a couple of hours or more. This works even in public as the
shirt doesn't look wet.
*** Blow a fan into an open ice chest to create a home brew air
conditioning system. The cold air near the ice will spread around the
room via the fan.
Warnings
Over-hydration is a possibility. Do not drink excessively. See
http://www.healthatoz.com/healthatoz/Atoz/ency/overhydration.jsp for
more info.
If you experience symptoms of heat stroke or dehydration, call
emergency personnel and seek professional assistance.
A body temperature above 104 °F (40 °C) is life-threatening and if
it reaches 113 °F (45 °C) you are approaching sure death. Seek
medical attention if you are unable to sweat!
Are you stuck on a sweltering summer day without air conditioning?
Here's how to cool yourself down before your body becomes overwhelmed
by the heat.
Steps
1- Hold ice or something frozen in your hand for as long as you can
stand it. Studies show that this will reduce your core body
temperature by as many as 3 degrees F. The relief is almost
immediate, and will last for up to one hour! Holding ice in your
hands for too long can also put you at risk for frost bite. If it
starts to hurt, stop!
2- Perspiration cools the body down. Water vapor produced by sweating
actually takes heat away from your body if it is exposed to air and
allowed to evaporate. The best thing to do is to put your sweaty self
in the path of a cool breeze or fan.
3- Drink water, even if you are not thirsty! You must replace fluids
lost in perspiration to prevent dehydration. Oral re-hydration may be
accomplished by drinking an electrolyte-balanced beverage. The
electrolytes help to make sure you don't lose vital minerals through
sweating. Adding ice will also help cool you off. Avoid lemonade,
iced tea, and other sugary drinks (see the Tips below). Ice does not
actually help you cool off if in water you will drink. Cool water
will, but the colder the water the more energy your body spends
making it body temperature so that it can use it.
4- Avoid direct sunlight. Stay in a shaded area if possible. Exposure
to direct sunlight increases the heat index, so that your body may
experience temperatures even higher than the air temperature! If you
must go outdoors, go in the morning or evening. Wear clothes that
cover up your body. A wide-brimmed hat is good. Light-weight, loose-
fitting cotton clothing should be worn. It is better to wear a shirt
with long sleeves and a collar to prevent any exposure. Some people
(eg Bedouins in the desert) believe it is even best to wear 2 or more
layers of clothes.
5- Go downstairs. Warm air is less dense than cooler air so it ends
up layered on top of the downward moving cooler air. If you're in a
house, for example, get lower than the roof. Make your way to the
basement or lower level. It will be cooler there. Position a fan in
an upstairs window to draw off heat collected in upper rooms--set it
up so that it sucks air from indoors and pushes it outdoors.
6- Keep the air flowing. Turn on the ceiling fan or box fan in the
room. DO NOT make yourself a fan out of paper and use it to wave air
past your face and neck. Contrary to popular belief, the activity
created by waving actually burns calories and raises your core
temperature.
7- Prepare your home against the heat. In the evening, open windows
and use fans to create a cross-breeze, circulating cooler
evening/night air through the rooms. As soon as the sun hits the
building the next morning, close all windows, blinds, and curtains,
and keep doors and windows closed throughout the day until it is
cooler outside than it is inside. Then you can open everything up
again and cool off to be prepared for the next day.
8- Turn off the stove and other sources of heat. Incandescent light
bulbs also create heat. Turn off your lamps, as well as your
computer.
9- Get wet! Take a cool shower or bath. Wet your hair. Fill a basin
with water and sit with your feet in it. Use a wet cloth to keep your
skin cool. Put a wet bandanna around your neck. Fill a spray bottle
or squirt gun with water and spritz yourself. Run cool or cold tap
water on the inside of your wrists. The water will cool down the
blood flowing through your veins and arteries.
10- Eat less. Smaller meals with less protein will reduce metabolic
heat. Whatever you do eat should be cool and not require heat to be
prepared (e.g. salads, sandwiches, etc.)
11- Try a few minty products to cool your skin: slather on lotion
with peppermint (avoid your face and eyes); shower with peppermint
soap; use a minty foot soak. Mint refreshes the skin and leaves a
nice cooling sensation.
12- Place a wet towel on the back of your neck and also the top of
one's head. Athletic team doctors have used this for years!
13- Take a glass and fill it almost to the brim with ice cubes. Then
hold it up to your mouth and blow gently into the cup. The ice causes
the air you are blowing into the cup to cool down drastically, and
since the air only has one way out of the up (the hole which should
now be aiming right at your face) the cold air is forced out over
your skin. This is a great alternative to air conditioning and is
very simple.
14- Try the yoga practice of shitali pranayama. Sit down cross legged
and take a few deep breaths, inhaling and exhaling slowly. Roll your
tongue into a tube with the tip outside the mouth. Continuing slow
deep breath, breath in through the tube and then move your chin to
your chest as you breath out through your nose. Do that 5-10 times
and you should start to feel cooler. Dogs often use their tongues to
cool themselves, perhaps this yoga practice comes from noticing that.
Tips
Don't forget that the human race lived for many, many years
without air conditioning. Within the limits of your particular health
situation, your body can adapt to the summer increase in temperature.
Just become accustomed to the fact that you may have to alter your
activities and schedule to 'beat the heat'.
*** Stock your freezer with flavored ice treats. Freeze a bag of
chopped fruit such as watermelon or pineapple. Cooling down can be a
tasty experience too!
*** If all else fails, go to the mall, library, church, movie
theater or some other air-conditioned public building.
*** Ladies: Try a slightly wet tissue in the cleavage. It's great
at preventing that annoying drip down the front of your clothing.
*** Apply a thin layer of vanishing cream to your freshly-washed,
dried face. Whether or not you have acne, the vanishing cream helps
to absorb facial perspiration and postpones the moment when your
glasses slip down your nose!
*** Fill your bath tub with cool water. Once you are used to the
temperature let some water out and refill with cold water. Keep doing
this until you are sufficiently cold. Your body will stay cool for a
long time after you get out.
*** Turn the heater on the waterbed off, let it cool. Lay down on
the surface of the waterbed. Even if its 85°F (29°FC) degrees, your
body is 98°F (37°C) , and the heat transfer rate for direct contact
is about 100 times larger than for convection. It will make you so
cold you will shiver.
*** Alcohol acts as a diuretic, which make you urinate more often
than usual. This promotes further dehydration through water loss.
Contrary to popular belief, caffeinated and sugary drinks can still
promote good hydration, although not as effectively as pure water.
*** If your garage is under living areas of your home, leave your
hot car outside to cool off before putting it in the garage.
*** Sweat includes both water and salt from your body. If you are
sweating alot, it is actually more healthy to drink something with
salt or other electrolytes in it to replenish the lost salt as well
as the lost fluid. Gatorade or other sports drinks are good to use
for this. Soda usually has a high sodium content as well, but may
contain the diuretic of caffeine which won't hydrate you as well.
*** Completely wet a synthetic or partially-synthetic T-shirt in
warm water and wear it (using warm water keeps the shirt from feeling
shockingly cold when you first put it on). The synthetic will ensure
no "wet T-shirt" look and the evaporation will keep you wonderfully
cool for a couple of hours or more. This works even in public as the
shirt doesn't look wet.
*** Blow a fan into an open ice chest to create a home brew air
conditioning system. The cold air near the ice will spread around the
room via the fan.
Warnings
Over-hydration is a possibility. Do not drink excessively. See
http://www.healthatoz.com/healthatoz/Atoz/ency/overhydration.jsp for
more info.
If you experience symptoms of heat stroke or dehydration, call
emergency personnel and seek professional assistance.
A body temperature above 104 °F (40 °C) is life-threatening and if
it reaches 113 °F (45 °C) you are approaching sure death. Seek
medical attention if you are unable to sweat!
