Summer Tips for Staying Cool

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Summer is a wonderfully energising and uplifting season that fills us with optimism yet when the sun is really beating down on us, like it has been in the past few weeks, we can often feel drained and lethargic, perhaps even agitated… as we’re not really set-up for such hot weather in this country.

In places like Spain, the siesta is a common coping mechanism to deal with the midday heat as are the wooden shutters on the windows and air conditioning units.  Here, we rely on going to the supermarket and grabbing one of the last remaining fans, and opening the UPVC windows as far as they will extend.

At night the situation often becomes more noticeable as there’s little worse than that feeling of being unable to sleep due to the heat and stuffiness within your bedroom.

Air conditioning is a great way to keep cool and modern innovations are offering more energy efficient, lightweight and portable solutions - but they still use quite a lot of energy and if you’re exposed to too much air conditioning it has a tendency to dry out your skin, dehydrate you, and can even make your throat sore.

This article therefore looks at three ways to help you stay cool this summer without breaking the bank or hurting the environment.

1. CHANGE YOUR BEDDING (AND EVEN YOUR BED)

The majority of people love nothing more than the feeling of resting in a comfy bed that’s warm and cosy, particularly in the winter months, but in this heat, the focus shifts to keeping cool.  

Therefore, you’ll want to adapt your bedding to summer sheets rather than a thick winter duvet.  You will also find that many modern mattress have a summer side and a winter side, so you’ll want to be sure to turn yours to the right season as this should help you keep cooler at night in itself.

2. LIMIT THE NUMBER OF ROOMS YOU COOL

If you’re like most people living in a standard house, there’s a strong chance you spend most of your time in just a few rooms of your house, in fact, several studies suggest people spend 80% of their time within the home in either their bedroom, living room or home office.

It makes sense to only cool the rooms you will be spending time in as this will save a lot of money on energy costs.  Furthermore, with regard to saving money on energy, you’ll want to make sure you keep the doors closed to the rooms that you don’t use very often.

3. VENTILATE

A much healthier and cheaper way to stay cool during the night, when sleeping, is to ensure a decent supply of fresh air comes into the bedroom, as getting fresh air into your lungs will be much better for your body than having air conditioning blasting out into the bedroom.  The problem with this is that it can really dry out out, in the sense that it can cause issues such as dry eyes, dry sore throats, and skin dehydration resulting in dry skin that can also exacerbate skin conditions such as eczema.