Summer Scorcher: Dealing with the Heat
Many places feel extreme heat in the summer time. It is nature’s fury along with all the other weather factors. Summer can be brutal to many people and dehydration is probably the number one factor to worry about in the summer time. But the real reason is, why do people love to stay out in the heat so much, and why don’t they feel the effects of the heat right away. Heat can be tricky, and even though your body feels fine, your temperature rises, then you sweat. Normally when you sweat, going into an air conditioned environment isn’t always the best thing to do, so you take a shower, and dry off, then get comfortable.
Air conditioning is the luxury we all pay for in the summer time, and while the heat reaches the hundred degrees these bills can go up quite fast. Weather Stations tell people to stay indoors when it is very hot out, but do we listen? Of course not… We all want to go to the beach, and go in the pool, and go tanning, etc. That is fine, as long as you use the proper sun screen, and protect yourself from the rays. I am a summer person myself, and while I might not listen to these rules sometimes, I pay for it, especially when I am out working in it, or playing basketball in it.
Light bills goes up more than 5 times the normal in the summer time. This is because we all use air conditioning. 99.9 % of people living in homes use air conditioning, while the other .1 % probably uses a fan, or just suffers from the heat. Air conditioning is a luxury to us all, and we take it for granted, which is not always a bad thing. Everyone wants to be comfortable, and when it is a hundred degrees out you should be. Air circulation is a must in the heat, and keeping the rooms cool makes the air quality much better.
Sunburn is a nasty effect the sun takes on your body. Normally people with whiter skin get more sunburn than others, but everyone can get it, it just shows more on a whiter person. If you do go outside in the heat and the UV Ray Index is above a 6, you can burn in under 20 minutes, so you need to make sure you put on sunscreen with at least SPF 20 or 30. This will protect you from getting burnt, and even give you a nice tan. Getting sunburn is not a pretty sight, or feeling. You feel very hot, and miserable, and you get hot flashes, and feel sick to your stomach a lot. When you are dehydrated, your body sweats out all of the salt particles, and your water content is down dramatically, so what do you normally do when you are dehydrated? Drink water, and eat something.
I don’t want to get into this right now, as I will get into this in a little bit. Being out in the sun for an extended period of time can also give you skin poisoning, which is a miserable effect from the sun, that forms little blotches on the skin, which can pus, or open up. These diseases can be prevented if the right sunscreen is used. Overall UV rays are dangerous so if you can stay out of the sun, do it, because heat can cause physical strain, and mental strain.
If you are outside working, or playing a sport in the heat, normally you are drinking some sort of beverage. I hope it’d be water, which would probably be the best thing to drink, but Gatorade is a good beverage to drink. Some people say Gatorade has a lot of sugar in it, and it can hype you up a lot. Well it does have sugar in it, but the amount of electrolytes in it will replenish your body, and make you feel much better. Beverages you should not drink are any type of soda, as these all have caffeine in it, and this will allow your body to dehydrate faster than normal.
When the sun is out, many people are either at the beach or at the pool. Staying in the water is a good thing, because water is cooler, and cooler is better than being hotter. Just make sure when you are in the pool or ocean to put the sunscreen on, and protect yourself. You don’t want to get sunburn!
