Beat the heat: 8 science-based hacks to keep cool

Summertime means sweat, sticky skin, and strange wet spots on your kids’ clothes. It’s tricky to beat the heat – but staying inside means leaving all the summertime activities behind, and what’s the fun in that?

Still, things are getting hot around here – here being the entire planet. According to the International Panel on Climate Change, the last 10 years have been the hottest decade in 125,000 years. And that’s affecting the weather we experience.

As temperatures around the globe continue to rise, the Environmental Protection Agency notes that heat waves have become much more intense in both frequency and heat indexes, compared to the 1960s. That means hotter summers for children – and adults. (Here are our top tips for explaining climate change to your little ones.)

Though getting kids outside is important for their physical, mental and emotional development, parents need to keep an eye on the heat index – a combination of temperature and humidity.

But how do you keep kids cool in hot weather? Well, past 32^oC, parents should limit kids’ time outside. And families should stay indoors when it reaches 37^oC, according to paediatric medicine expert H. Dele Davies, from the University of Nebraska Medical Centre.

But not all hot days reach this emergency level, so no need to spend the entire season inside. Well-known advice like drinking water and staying in the shade will keep kids cooler for longer, so they can safely soak up those outdoor benefits.

These eight tips to beat the heat put a fun spin on those rules – and teach everyone some science at the same time.

Make ’em sweat

Sweat is basically our bodies’ air-conditioning system as our internal heat converts the sweat into vapour. “That pulls heat away from you,” Davies says, lowering your body temperature as heat is released during evaporation.

So long as it’s safe to do so, encourage kids to play hard and become sweaty little messes – just keep those water bottles close so they can replace lost fluids.

Eat your water

That said, kids don’t always want to stop for water breaks. The secret? Pack snacks with the most water-intense foods you can. Cucumbers and tomatoes are 96% and 95% water, respectively, making the pair an excellent option. On the sweeter side, watermelon is 92% water.

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Create a cool zone

Mist on the body can have the same heat-releasing effect as sweat, Davies explains. (Plus the cold water offers a brief respite for a hot body.) Have kids play spray games with your hose’s mist setting on (but limit the time they play for, to avoid using excessive amounts of water), or build your own mister from PVC pipe and mister jets.

Get your clothes wet

Davies says that wet clothes release heat from the body much the same way that sweating does. After, for instance, running through a cold sprinkler, or taking a dip, the water in the wet clothes evaporates, pulling heat from the body. Plus, since the water is cooler than the air, you get a double whammy of cold. A perfect way to beat the heat!

So, be a little naughty by allowing clothes to get soaked – just make sure they’re quick-drying clothing. Davies says that clothes that stay wet too long can pull heat from the air into the body as they try to dry. Choose fabrics that dry quickly, like breathable nylon or thin cotton.

Ice down your hot zones

Grab a bowl of ice cubes and rub the ice on the body’s pulse points: wrists and neck, the insides of elbows and knees, the tops of feet, inner ankle bones, inner thighs and temples. Blood vessels there are closer to the surface of your skin, so the ice can cool the blood that passes through them more easily and quickly – and then that cooled blood will move through your body.

For longer-lasting relief, Eric Campbell, who shares his tips for withstanding high heat on his TikTok, @Eric_the_Green, dips bandanas in cold water and wraps them around his ankles, wrists and head.

Get your feet wet

Letting children stomp in cool water is a great way to chill their feet and ankles, some of their most impactful ‘hot zones’. If it hasn’t rained in a while, make a path of items you can fill with water, like wide bowls, containers or kiddie pools, and have them navigate this journey of tiny pools. One caveat: wellies and waterproof trainers will block the skin’s ability to benefit from the cool water, Davies says. That makes barefoot best, but if you need shoes, choose sandals.

Hat on, hat off

A brimmed hat keeps harmful rays off faces, but it also might hold in heat. Give your scalp a break once you’re under some shade. Davies says this might help moisture from the head to evaporate more easily. That might help cool down the body and prevent that sweaty moisture from eventually absorbing the air’s heat.

Don’t scream for ice cream

Ice cream might have a brief cooling effect, but over time it might do just the opposite. The frozen treat is primarily made of milk fat and sugar, and according to food and nutrition expert Bohdan Luhovyy in a paper published by Mount Saint Vincent University, fat requires high amounts of energy to break down. That releases heat in the body, a process called diet-induced thermogenesis. To avoid that extra heat on a hot summer day, make some sugar-free fruity ice lollies instead.

What are your top tips to beat the heat? Share them in the comments below!

Written by Lindsay N. Smith. Image credits: Sprinkler © Wundervisuals / Getty Images. All other images (c) Adobe Stock.