Cooling #hacks for a scorching summer

How to Keep Cool in the Heat

how to keep cool in the heat

For most of us city dwellers across India, weather has already hit furnace proportions. And, real summer isn’t even here. So as we head in to hell, and prepare for power cuts, we thought we’d hunt around for some interesting tips on how to keep cool in the heat without having the AC on all day! These tips can also be used to reduce your overall dependency on AC’s which consume very high amounts of energy, and do your bit to protect the environment.

Here they are!

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  1. Don’t shower with cold water before you sleep: It could get your body to respond in the opposite manner – warm up by itself. Bathe with normal or luke warm water. When you step out of the shower you’ll feel a nice fresh chill!
  2. Keep your bed linen cool: A smart way of staying cool in the heat, is to place your cotton bed sheets in the freezer for 30 minutes and use it to cover yourself. It will give you enough respite to nod off to sleep.
  3. Put your hot water bottle to use: Fill it up with water and put it in the freezer. A couple of hours later you’ll have nice little ice pack to keep you cool. Use it as a cold compress and use it on your wrists, behind your knees, between your elbow, your neck and other parts of your body.
  4. Check which way your fan is rotating: During the summer, the ceiling fan should ideally be running on high with the air blowing down directly below the fan. This creates the best air circulation, driving it to the center of the room.
  5. Make use of the sunshine: Unless you use LEDs or CFL’s, keep bulbs switched off. Bulbs emit heat and will add to the high temperature.
  6. Avoid spicy meals: Be careful of what you eat, for at least a few hours before you go to bed. Spicy food generate heat in the body, and will make you uncomfortable.
  7. Check product details before you shop on fashion sites: Most of the summery colors, stringy tops and great buys are actually made of Polyester. So yes, you’ll look good, but you’ll also probably get cooked! Add Cotton to your wardrobe instead. It’ a natural fiber that let’s your skin breathe, absorbs sweat or perspiration (depending on your gender J) and is great for someone prone to skin allergies. Ditch the polyester, crepes, leather (if you’re someone who wears leather in the summer, do let us know).
  8. Follow good old fashioned advice: Keep your doors and windows shut between 12 pm and 4 pm, roll down the chiks (wooden / bamboo blinds) over your balcony, and invest in an air cooler which hydrates vs. an AC which pull moisture out of the air.
  9. Cross Ventilate: Experiment with your windows and doors. Follow the sun, and keep the doors and windows facing the sun closed at different times of the day. So open the ones that face the West in the morning, and East in the evening. You could also place a bowl of water in front of a table fan with the usual fan and/or window, it will blow cooler air.
  10. Stay Single: Two people together generate more warmth! Stay single, stay cool!

Share with us your fun ideas on how to stay cool in the heat and let’s make this summer a bit more fun.