MISTAKE #1: BECOMING A FULL-TIME COUCH
There’s no doubt about it: Exercise heats up the body.
Your heart rate increases, your muscles fire, and your metabolism speeds up, all of which crank up your internal thermostat.
So when it’s already hot outside, why hit the gym and create more heat when you can just chill on the couch?
Not so fast: “Maintaining your fitness levels and your heat acclimatization are both going to dramatically help you stay cool,” says Douglas Casa, Ph.D., CEO of Korey Stringer Institute at the University of Connecticut.
The better shape you’re in, the better your body’s sweat response, meaning you’ll feel less fatigued and more comfortable in the heat.
Just make sure you train smart: Exercise during the coolest time of the day, skip direct sunlight, and hydrate.
MISTAKE #2: DRINKING COLD DRINKS EXCLUSIVELY
Raise your hand if you think of a frosty beer or a glass of iced tea as the ultimate summer refresher.
Certainly not a piping hot cup of tea, right?
Yet science says that under certain circumstances, hot tea trumps the icy stuff.
Researchers from the University of Ottawa’s Thermal Ergonomics Lab found that when triggered by a hot beverage, temperature-sensing receptors in the mouth kick-start your cooling response without raising your core temperature.
The only caveat: The sweat must fully evaporate to cool you off, so if you’re literally dripping in sweat, a cold drink is the better bet.
MISTAKE #3: CHOOSING THE WRONG HAT
You’ve heard the old adage that you lose 70 percent of your body heat through your head, so surely sans hat is the best way to keep cool.
Not so, says Andrew Maynard, Ph.D., director of the Risk Innovation Lab at Arizona State University—but the type of hat does make a difference.
“A lightweight, light-colored hat bounces a lot of the sun’s heat away from your head, so you’re going to have less of that heat actually heating up your head,” says Maynard.
Turns out that 70 percent rule is also bogus.
Research published in the British Medical Journal found that we lose no more than 10 percent of our body heat through our heads.
Still, since fabric can interfere with the evaporative effects of sweat, ventilation is key, so stick with straw or mesh hats, or breathable fabrics.
MISTAKE # 4: SWILLING SPORTS DRINKS FOR SUPER HYDRATION
Dehydration sucks. Not getting enough fluids sabotages sweating, the body’s best defense against overheating, says Glen Kenny, Ph.D., professor of the School of Human Kinetics at the University of Ottawa.
So when the mercury rises, it makes sense that you’d follow the lead of pro athletes and reach for an electrolyte-spiked sports drink.
But if you’re not an endurance athlete or exercising more than an hour in the heat, you don’t need the extra sodium or sugar.
Yes, salt is lost in sweat, but chances are, you’re getting plenty in your diet, plus the body reabsorbs some of the sodium from sweat.
So how should regular Joes hydrate to optimize cooling?
If you eat a well-balanced diet and hydrate continuously, plain old water is your best bet, says Kenny: “In terms of all the data out there, clearly water is the ideal fluid,” he says.
MISTAKE #5. TAKING A LUKEWARM SHOWER
Don’t worry—a cold shower won’t shock your system.
“The cold water is so powerful that it’s going to cool you down rapidly,” says Casa.
Now you don’t need to go dunking yourself in an icebath, but water is a conductor of heat, and rinsing under a cool stream quickly removes excess body heat, instantly cooling your skin’s surface.
MISTAKE #6. STRIPPING OFF SWEATY CLOTHES
Say you’re out cutting your lawn in the heat and notice your shirt is soaked in sweat. Time to swap it out for a dry one, right? Wrong.
“Essentially, that piece of clothing is your skin, and the minute you take it off, you’ve lost all the cool-down potential from that sweat,” says Kenny.
Same goes when you mop sweat from your brow: Because sweat cools the body through the evaporative process, wiping it away halts your body’s natural cooling mechanism.
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