LifeSource Water Logo
/
Blog
/
Health and Beauty

Health and Beauty

Beat the Heat: How to Stay Cool In a Heat Wave

Learn Hydration Tips, Heat Stroke Symptoms, And More

Relentless heat during an extreme heat wave doesn’t let up, even at night. Steering wheels become scorching hot, water bottles warp, and anything plastic can melt. The dangers of extreme heat are all too real. Let's explore how to stay safe, hydrated, and cool during these challenging times.
Blanca Torii writes blogs about clean water and water filtration systems for LifeSource Water Systems. Blanca Torii

About a quarter of the U.S. is under a heat advisory, according to the National Weather Service. That translates to more than 70 million people across the country experiencing dangerous levels of heat. More lives are claimed by heat each year than hurricanes, tornadoes, or wildfires. Follow these tips on how to stay safe and hydrated during a heat wave.

What Is Causing the Extreme Heat?

Heat waves, caused by CO2 buildup and climate change, disrupt the environment and pose a serious risk to human health. The trapped heat, or CO2 buildup, emits infrared energy, half of which returns to Earth as heat.

Climate Central, a nonprofit organization focused on climate issues, reports that the combustion of fossil fuels and the resulting warming of the Earth's atmosphere has increased the likelihood of extreme heat waves by at least fivefold.

What Temperature Is Considered A Heat Wave?

Heat waves are typically above 90 degrees and are characterized by extended periods of abnormally high temperatures.

Recognizing the Dangers

What Are the Threats of a Heat Wave?

Extreme temperatures can trigger heat-related illnesses within minutes, especially for those engaging in strenuous outdoor activities. Heat exhaustion, characterized by heavy sweating, muscle cramps, fatigue, and dizziness, requires immediate attention.

Who’s at Risk of Heat Stroke?

People aged 65 and older, pregnant women, children younger than two, outdoor athletes, and those with chronic diseases, preexisting conditions, and mental illness.

How to Stay Safe & Hydrated

Signs of Heat Exhaustion Include:

  • Heavy sweating

  • Cold, pale, clammy skin

  • Fast, weak pulse

  • Nausea or vomiting

  • Muscle cramps

  • Fatigue

  • Dizziness, headaches, or fainting

    • If you notice these symptoms, take small sips of water, relocate to a cooler spot if available, loosen your clothing, and consider a cool bath or applying wet cloths to your body.

When to Seek Medical Attention

If you vomit, experience muscle spasms (especially in the arms, legs, or abdomen), delirium, or if your symptoms worsen or last longer than an hour.

While Awaiting Assistance, You Should:

  • Move to a cool place.

  • Position yourself in a horizontal position with elevated legs and hips.

  • Remove clothing.

  • Apply cold packs to the armpits, neck, and groin.

  • Continuously fan yourself.

  • Mist your skin with cool water.

  • Monitor your body temperature.

Note: Do not take Aspirin or Tylenol.

What Are the Signs of Heat Stroke in Children?

  • Sleepiness or confusion

  • Hot and dry skin, not cold and clammy

  • High fever or seizures

Approximately 50% of children experiencing heatstroke do not perspire, according to the American Academy of Pediatrics.

How to Keep Kids Safe from Heat Stroke

  • Dress them in lightweight, light-colored clothing, use sunscreen, and encourage hydration.

  • Plan cooling activities such as running through sprinklers or playing in a pool.

  • Keep them in shaded areas.

  • Limit outdoor play to 30 minutes and keep babies under 12 months out of direct sunlight.

Avoid Foods That Are Hard To Digest

Studies show that some people tend to eat less during hotter weather, which may be because metabolizing food demands energy that can raise the body’s temperature.

While not eating won’t help your health, avoiding foods that are harder to digest may help keep your body cool.

Thermogenic foods are harder to digest, meaning they create heat inside your body during digestion.

Protein is highly thermogenic, especially red meat. Whole grains, sweet potatoes, and spicy foods flavored with cayenne and ginger are also thermogenic.

However, according to Dr. Chris Minson, an exercise physiologist, your body temperature rises minorly with every meal, which should have minimal impact on most individuals who consume thermogenic foods.

Limit Alcohol and Caffeine (if you’re sensitive)

For individuals sensitive to caffeine, it's advisable to limit consumption of coffee and energy drinks during hot weather.

Similar to coffee, alcohol acts as a diuretic. Both are dehydrating because they cause water loss from the body.

The hydration levels of regular coffee drinkers may be unaffected by caffeine since their bodies are acclimated to caffeine.

Do I Need to Add Electrolytes?

Experts say that cold water is adequate for people exercising 30-90 minutes outside.

However, certain individuals such as laborers, construction workers, soldiers, and high-level athletes may require added electrolytes.

Plus, it's important to differentiate between energy drinks (often high in sugar and caffeine) and sports drinks (containing electrolytes). Most people can replenish salts through regular meals, says Dr. Minson.

More Hydration Tips

Avoid Extremely Cold Drinks

Avoid very cold drinks in extreme heat, as they may cause stomach cramps.

Drink BEFORE You Feel Thirsty

Drink fluids before feeling thirsty, as thirst indicates significant dehydration. People can pass out from dehydration even before they know they're dehydrated.

Forget About 8 Glasses A Day, Look At This Instead

Instead of following the ‘8 glasses a day’ rule, Dr. Stavros Kavouras, professor of nutrition at Arizona State University, recommends monitoring urination frequency and color.

Healthy urination occurs every two to three hours and resembles the color of lemonade.

If urine looks like orange juice, it's a sign to increase water intake.

 

Additionally, staying hydrated before sleeping and during nighttime wake-ups is beneficial.

It’s also a good idea to drink water before sleeping, and make sure to drink water if you wake up in the middle of the night.

Make Your Home a Hydration Haven

To make it easy to stay hydrated at home, get a whole house water filtration system, which lets you drink filtered water from every tap and faucet in your home. (And every shower, too, if that floats your boat.)

Plus, you can fill up your reusable water bottles when you’re on the go instead of making multiple trips to the grocery store. Say goodbye to plastic waste from bottled water.

How to Keep Cool If You Don't Have an AC

Timing is Everything: Optimizing Your Fan Time

Use box fans and ceiling fans to promote air circulation. Aim some outside to push the hot air out and draw in cooler evening air.

Take advantage of the cooler evenings by opening all windows and maximizing air circulation.

As the sun rises, close all doors, windows, curtains, and blinds to keep the indoors cool for as long as possible.

When the outside air cools down in the evenings or at night, open the windows again and turn on the fans.

Head Downstairs

Remember, hot air rises! So, if you have multiple floors in your home, head downstairs to escape the midday heat. The ground floor or basement will be cooler compared to the upper stories.

Create a Homemade Air Conditioning System

Position yourself in the path of a box fan aimed at an open cooler or pan filled with ice. The fan will blow the cool air generated by the ice toward you, providing a refreshing breeze.

Visit Public Buildings with AC

If the heat becomes unbearable, seek relief in public buildings with air conditioning. Libraries, shopping malls, and movie theaters can offer a cool sanctuary to beat the heat.

Consider Your Diet

Opt for smaller, lighter meals that are not protein-rich. Large, protein-heavy meals increase metabolic heat and warm up your body, making you feel even hotter.

Conclusion

As temperatures soar during a heat wave, it is crucial to prioritize our well-being and take measures to stay hydrated and cool.

By recognizing the signs of heat-related illnesses, making smart choices about food and exercise, and maintaining proper hydration, we can navigate these challenging conditions with greater safety and comfort. Stay informed, stay cool, and stay hydrated during this heat wave.

About LifeSource Water Systems

Founded in 1984, LifeSource Water Systems manufactures and distributes eco-friendly water treatment products for residential, commercial, and industrial applications. We are a second-generation, family-owned and -operated company and treat all our employees and clients as family.

Based in Pasadena, Calif., our factory has operated in the U.S. since its founding. Our mission is to provide clean, healthy, great-tasting water to communities across North America.





INFORMATION WE COLLECT ABOUT YOU

We want to be transparent about the data we and our partners collect and how we use it, so you can best exercise control over your personal data. For more information, please see our Privacy Policy.

INFORMATION OUR PARTNERS COLLECT

We use the following partners to better improve your overall web browsing experience. They use cookies and other mechanisms to connect you with your social networks and tailor advertising to better match your interests. You can elect to opt-out of this information collection by unticking the boxes below.

Marketing and Advertising cookies allow us to track what users are looking at and engaging with on our websites. These cookies may be set by the advertising and media partners we work with. In some cases this information may be used by those companies to build a profile of interests and then show relevant advertising on other websites you visit.

Analytics cookies allow us to collect information to analyse how many people are using our websites, how our website is being used and its technical performance. By analysing this data we can then implement changes to our websites to make them more useful and improve the experience we offer.