Isn’t it just gorgeous at the moment and such a great mood booster, to see everyone happy in the sun. The fine warm weather is always appreciated here, however In Ireland we are rarely treated to temperatures in the high 20’s like we are experiencing at this present moment, so my blog today is about keeping yourself cool.

We all know that we should stay in the shade and keep out of the sun in the middle of the day but what else can you do to be able to work safely?

 

1. Keep a wet facecloth in the fridge or freezer and use on the back of your neck, this is a great tip for manual workers as by cooling the head and neck you feel cooler straight away and can think straight.

You can also run cold water over your wrists for instant relief.

1. Make up a water spray and use that to spritz yourself during the day, this would be particularly good in shops and other places where the air conditioning is not working. You could also use aloe vera gel, which is also a great after sun product.
2. Put a glass bowl of ice in front of your fan if you don’t have air conditioning, this will help in a big way to cool the room.

Work outside in the shade if you have an umbrella and are near an internet connection then this is the perfect solution to staying cool and working at the same time.

1. Wear light coloured natural fibre clothing such as bamboo, we all know that lighter colours reflect heat but the more natural the better for you. They are also more sustainable.
2. Keep all curtains, windows and doors closed in your home during the day if you can and just open doors and windows in the early morning and then in the evening only especially those on the West facing side for a comfortable night’s sleep. The added advantage is that flies and mosquitoes don’t invade your space, who hasn’t been up out of the bed to chase one out of the room?  To keep a baby's room cool, you can wet the window panes and then put a layer of tinfoil on it shiny side out.
3. Lastly, drink plenty of cool water. If you don’t really like it then add in fresh fruit and veg such as limes, lemons, and cucumber to make it more palatable. You can also add in herbs such as mint and flavoured mint, (I’ve seen banana mint and strawberry mint as well as growing chocolate mint myself) and of course you can use lemon balm too. You can add in cordial but the more natural, the healthier for you.

If you are drinking alcohol, it is so important to space your drinks with water if drinking in the sun, you tend to drink more when outside and can suffer with sunburn and get overheated as alcohol is a diuretic.

 

Those are some of my tips for you today, enjoy the heat and do please contact me if you have any questions.