6 Ways to Cool Down Without Air Conditioning

Monday, July 06, 2015

Erin Brockmeyer, GoLocalWorcester Natural Health Expert

The heat! The heat! The last few weeks have tried even the staunchest of the sun lovers in Worcester. To beat the heat you are heading to the coast, the rivers, the mountains, the mall — just about anywhere you can think of to get a break.

These are great options outside of work hours or for a weekend getaway, but aren’t practical for the long term. Usually heat like this is something that only needs to be managed for a day or two, but this heat wave is starting to seem like it will never go away.

If you have air conditioning, you are set, but for the rest of you, there are tricks you can try to help make the hot summer days (and nights) more tolerable.

See Slideshow Below: 6 Ways to Cool Down without Air Conditioning

Erin Brockmeyer, LAc, is owner and acupuncturist at Solstice Natural Health in downtown Portland, Oregon. She creates custom health plans for patients to help them tackle their most complicated health concerns, including infertility, prenatal care, fibromyalgia, thyroid conditions and chronic and acute pain conditions. Visit her website for more information and to download her free e-book 5 Simple Ways to Improve Your Health Today.

Related Slideshow: 6 Ways to Cool Down Without Air Conditioning

If you have air conditioning, you are set, but for the rest of you, there are tricks you can try to help make the hot summer days (and nights) more tolerable.

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6.

Drink (water). This one isn’t so much about directly staying cool as it is an indirect way to keep from overheating. Hot days and nights mean more sweating. Sweat is your body’s personal cooling system, and it depends on you having adequate amounts of moisture in your body. Make sure you keep drinking water throughout the day, and drink a glass before bed so that you can keep your cooling system functioning well.

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5.

Fan yourself. If you have a window fan that has a dual function and can be set to either suck cool air in or exhaust warm air out of a room, that is ideal. If all you have is a regular box fan, this is how you should use it: When the evening is still hot but is on its way to cooling down, position the fan in the window so that it is blowing towards the outside. This allows the fan to suck the hot air from the room and send it out where it belongs. As you feel the room start to cool and the outside air cool even further, flip the fan around and so you can suck the cool outside air into the room. This is so much better than just using your fan to push hot air around your room.

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4.

Get to the heart of the matter. There are various spots on your body where your pulse (therefore your blood vessels) are particularly close to the surface of your skin. You can use these areas to help cool your overall body temperature, and it can be done fairly quickly and easily whether you are at work or at home. Simply get a cloth or paper towel damp with cold water (bonus points if you can toss it in the freezer for a few minutes — just be careful not to completely freeze it), then put the towel on the fleshy pulse points of your neck, wrists, the crook of your elbows, behind your knees, on your ankles and on your temples. You can also use a couple of drops of a cooling oil like peppermint to assist in beating the heat if you can’t get a damp towel.

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3.

Make a cold pack. You can use a reusable ice pack for this, or you can freeze just about anything that will hold the cool for a bit. The goal here is to cool off long enough on a hot night to fall asleep. You can freeze a damp cloth, some rice in a sock, even one of those spa-type eye masks. Then take it out when you are ready for bed and place it on your feet or inner thighs (two areas that can really cool down the rest of your body).

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2.

Stop cooking. In the summer it is a great idea to check out the forecast for the week when planning meals. If it is going to be a hot day or week, make sure you are prepared to eat lots of salads and smoothies, to grill out, and just in general are ready to prepare food in ways that require minimal heating of your home. If you do want to do some cooking, do it late at night after the heat of the day has passed so that all you have to do the next day is to reheat in a microwave. Here’s a great list of hot weather meals courtesy of blog the kitchn.

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1.

Say goodbye to your bed. Certainly if you live in a multi-story house, you’ve already thought to move your bedding to the lowest possible floor so you can sleep comfortably at night (the basement is ideal). If you are stuck in a 3rd floor apartment, you can still get low (since heat rises) by moving your bedding to the floor and taking advantage of the coolness of hard wood or tile flooring to get a better night of sleep. Sleeping on a bamboo floor mat or even a few cotton blankets can be better than sleeping on your mattress. It is an especially good idea to get out of bed if you have a memory foam or Tempurpedic type mattress — they are known for 2 things: being comfortable, and making you incredibly hot when you sleep.