It’s halfway through the hottest season of the year and everyone is sick of sweating. You go downstairs and it’s hot. You go upstairs and it’s even hotter. It’s day and it’s hot. It’s night and it’s hot. No matter where you are, it’s stifling and you’re uncomfortable.
Here are six quick and easy ways to cool down:
Take a hot shower:
This may seem counterintuitive but a hot shower right before you go to bed can help you habituate to the steamy summer night. While you’re in the shower, your body adapts to the much higher temperature. By the time you step out of the shower, your body will welcome the tropical temperatures and you’ll feel clean and refreshed.
It’s so hot, it’s cold:
Your hot water bottle might be your new best friend when fighting the heat. Yes, that’s right. Your hot water bottle isn’t just there for aches and pains. Fill it up with ice cold water, wrap it in a towel and take it to bed with you. Your feet have a lot of nerve endings in them so put it by your feet to cool off quickly when you’re feeling overheated.
Create a cross-breeze:
If it’s sticky hot and still outside, create a cross-breeze using fans. Find two windows that are across from each other – or as close as you can make it. In window #1, place a fan in front of it facing inwards towards you. Go to window #2 across from window #1 and place another fan in front of it facing outwards, towards the exterior of the house. Turn them both on and behold the beauty of your instant breeze.
Chill out, pillow style:
The chillow is a pillow pad that uses fluid technology to keep everything cool and comfortable on a hot summer night. I’ve never tried it but anything that can make my sleep a little sweeter is worth a try in my books.
If you’re looking for a more natural solution, buy a buckwheat pillow. Buckwheat hulls contain air pockets which allows heat to disperse unlike the more conventional foam pillows, that hold onto your heat. It works even when they are all bunched up in your pillow case.
It’s curtains for you:
Keep your curtains and blinds closed during the day – especially for south and west-facing windows. Roughly 30 percent of heat comes through our windows – closing the curtains can minimize that. If you really want to catch the cool, use low-e film on your windows; it can reflect up to 93% of radiant heat coming through your glass.
Make your ceiling fans seasonal:
Ever wonder why your ceiling fan had that weird setting? You know the one…it creates a mini-cyclone in your living room and scatters your stuff everywhere. Well, it has a purpose. It creates coolness in the summer months.
So, adjust your ceiling fan to the season. In summer, set it to run counter-clockwise at a higher speed. It will movethe hot air out and creates a pleasant wind-chill factor. You’ll be sipping Mai Tai’s and enjoying your homemade breeze in no time!
Image Courtesy of Free Images/Hans-Günther Dreyer