Contemplations and techniques for finding comfort amidst the heat

When I was a child I always found cold easier to bear than heat. Now I am the opposite way and have difficulty in the cold. But nevertheless I will share a few thoughts on finding comfort in the heat.

At one point in time I thought of every heat wave as darned global warming! Now I just think of it as being hot. Don’t people in tropical countries have it a lot hotter than here, in these cool(-ish) northern reaches? (Actually, once, a few years ago in town it was something like 115F. Things have been significantly better/cooler here in recent years.) But thinking about this—if people in the tropics can live and work in this kind of weather, then so can I! And so instead of seeing the heat as something painful I could see it as just a factor that was there.

More recently I had another realization that has helped me—that sweating doesn’t mean one is tired or hot, only sweating. So when you separate out sweat from temperature, you may be in the hot sun and feel damp and muggy, but when you specifically focus on temperature, you may as well be in a mildly air conditioned room because of the effects of evaporation.

I can’t say I have yet found a way to be quite as comfortable lying down, and especially trying to sleep. Have you any other thoughts or techniques?

A ceiling fan makes all the difference in the world, especially for sleeping. It may seem odd or counter-intuitive, but wearing something light, to sleep in (as well as during the day) helps immensely, because it keeps body parts from touching, and heating each other up. Conversely, in the winter, wearing little or nothing under the blankets, will help you stay warmer, because body parts share warmth.

Keeping windows covered, during the hottest part of the day helps block out the sun's heat, then opening them in the evening, to allow the (at least somewhat) cooler air in. In a multi-level house, fully opening a south-facing window on the south or west side(in the northern hemisphere) on the uppermost level, and opening a couple strategic windows on the lower level(s), just a little bit, will create a draw to pull hot air out, and cooler air in. If you can put a good fan in that upper window (or better yet, in the attic!), blowing out, so much the better. I've personally felt and observed a whole-house fan almost instantly drop the temperature of a huge old farmhouse, by at least 10°F, almost instantly, by doing this. The same concepts work in a single level house, its just a more dramatic instant difference, when standing in the upper level, and turning on that fan.

Take tepid showers, instead of hot or cold. Hot showers tend to overheat the body, while cold showers drop the body's surface temps, but not the core (not generally a good idea, anyway), so when stepping out of the shower, one feels sticky again, almost immediately. A tepid shower cools the body enough to get some instant relief, without causing one to overheat as soon one steps back out.

Outdoors - shade. Shade, shade, shade. If there's none, naturally, it can be created with opaque umbrellas, awnings, trees, tall, wide shrubs, privacy fence, shade sails, buildings... even taller people, lol. Staying hydrated is equally important, in both extremes of temps.

Eating 'cool' foods like watermelon, cucumbers, leafy salads, cole slaw, cold soups (gazpacho, cucumber, carrot...) etc can go a long way toward keeping both people and homes cooler. Avoiding foods that normally bring autumn & winter to mind, like bowls of hot chili, soups and stews, roasts. Cooking outside (while standing in the shade, with a cold drink in hand) will help keep the heat out of the house, to. After all, there's a REASON southerners in the USA are so big on grilling & smoking their meats. Even a slow cooker can add heat to a room, so if the temps are high, that slow cooker can also be moved outside.

Personally, the higher the temps, the higher my pony-tail goes. That gets it up, off my neck without adding layers of hair to the side of my head. I can't begin to tell just how much of a difference that one thing makes. Loose, flowy, natural fabrics, that cover the parts of me that would normally make contact, while uncovering the parts that don't are a tremendous help.

I find that acclimatation plays a big factor for me.

If temperatures gradually rise over the course of a week, I find it easier to tolerate the temperature than if a heat wave sets in out of nowhere. It is important to listen to your body and the signals it is giving you when considering working in high heat.

I have noticed that several hot climate cultures practice drinking hot teas, which to me seems counterproductive at first site. I am trying out having hot tea when I'm working out in the heat to see if I notice anything different. I am wondering if it helps stimulate additional sweating which then evaporates and cools? The jury is still out on this one for me.

Timothy Norton wrote:I have noticed that several hot climate cultures practice drinking hot teas, which to me seems counterproductive at first site. I am trying out having hot tea when I'm working out in the heat to see if I notice anything different. I am wondering if it helps stimulate additional sweating which then evaporates and cools? The jury is still out on this one for me.

I know some people who swear by it, but I'm a cool weather guy and it doesn't work for me at all. Maybe I'm not naturally sweaty enough.

I agree with the fan idea. When I am seriously too hot to even be able to sleep, I put a cold pack on my head and then fall asleep rather easily.

When I was growing up and living in an old farmhouse with no air conditioning, we dealt with the occasional heat spell by sleeping in dampened t-shirts. Not drippy wet, just dampened a bit so that evaporative cooling happened. When up and around, a damp, thin cloth draped over one’s neck can also help.

Do be aware that once you’ve had a heat-related illness (heat exhaustion, heat stroke), you are much more susceptible to getting it again. Take precautions seriously if this applies to you.

Hi Maieshe,
Putting your bare feet in a bucket of water is an old but good way to get cooled off.

For a personal anecdote (I don't have any studies to back it up), when I was on a low carb diet my body seemed to adjust to temperature better. I did not get as chilled in the winter and I did not get as hot in the summer.

Back in the days before most homes had air conditioning, I have been told that folks, mostly ladies put articles of clothing in the fridge so when they put them on they would be cool.

Freezing bottles of water to set in front of a fan is a great way to get a cooling breeze.

Planting lots of trees surrounding the house is also a great way to decrease temps in the house.

Anne Miller wrote:Planting lots of trees surrounding the house is also a great way to decrease temps in the house.

I second this! But, with an important caveat. If/ when planting trees to shade the house, it would be wise to take great care to ensure that they're not *too* close to the house, and that as they grow, they don't lean toward the house. We just had to take down 5 beautiful, mature trees that offered wonderful, cooling shade to our home, because they were too close, and 3 were leaning toward the house. After a few years of drought, quite a few of our mature trees began losing huge branches, or simply coming down, because of the drought damage. I'm saddened, and our house & deck are suddenly warmer, without those lovely trees.

Carla is right on the money about trees.

The only thing I would add is to really research the type of tree you want to plant. The previous homeowner planted Siberian Elm for shade and it has been a liability now that they are above 20 foot tall. The branches shed, some trees leak stinky sap, and they lean in all the wrong directions.

Observing and planning will pay dividends in that regard.

Timothy, is 100% spot on - and reminds me that (especially for trees that will be closer to your home) it would also be smart, to choose trees that won't aggravate any allergies, when they bloom/leaf. These oaks left a VERY messy, thick yellow layer of pollen on everything - house, deck, cars, anything left outside,  and our allergies become horrific, right about then.

In addition to the other suggestions, going underground works really well.  For me, that means moving into the basement in the summer.  Basements are pretty climate controlled, even with no heat or A/C.

Timothy Norton wrote:Carla is right on the money about trees.

The previous homeowner planted Siberian Elm for shade and it has been a liability now that they are above 20 foot tall. The branches shed,

“Self pruning!”  🤣

I’ve had this experience!

Siberian elms are great trees, but it’s easiest if they are not planted where they can drop huge branches on the roof, the car, the road.

I visited my aunt in New York during a heat wave.  Being from the arid west I was not used to the humidity.  And the picturesque old house they lived in was built long before air conditioning, and they had no window units.

I filled the bathtub with water.  With a very lightweight cotton nightie on, I would get in the water, and out again, dry off the drips with a towel, and get into bed, covering up with just a cotton sheet.  I could sleep for a couple hours before I woke up.  Sheets and nightie dry, and feeling hot.  I repeated the process several times a night.

We have no ac so we mostly just leave our windows open from spring through fall. In summer when days reach 80 (way too often lately!) we shut the windows and close our cellulose shades completely immediately open waking. This keeps the house surprisingly cool as long as night temps were nice! We only open them again when the day temps have dropped below our interior temps.

We are surrounded by very tall pine trees and that helps protect us from the worst of the evening heat, at least. But I see a possible heat wave coming up and the worst part is nights will be in the 60s as well. This is not cool enough for the house to remain comfortably cool all day, sadly. Hopefully it won’t last long.

Anyway, you may be surprised at just how effective (and free!) it is to use exterior night temps to regulate your home’s temp where possible.

Anne Miller wrote:
Planting lots of trees surrounding the house is also a great way to decrease temps in the house.

Trees are amazing at providing comfort in the heat. Here in the southwest, though, to be firewise we don't want trees or large shrubs within 30 feet of buildings or anything else we don't want to burn. New Mexico's Energy, Minerals and Natural Resources Department also recommends to create 10 feet of space between the branches of other trees and shrubs o a distance of 100 feet (200 feet on steep building sites). Prune lower branches of trees up to 10 feet off the ground.

It doesn't keep houses cool but it does help keep them from burning down.

Firewise USA info

I dunk my head under water and because.my hair is really thick, it takes hours to dry. I sleep "like a log" so I don't wake up unless it's for my bladder! So I also try to get all my daily fluids in earlier.
I am in Canada and don't like a/c or how much energy it wastes so I did put a zero gravity lawn chair in the unfinished basement once in late June or early July and slept in that!

Of course the basement is cooler, which is why I built and earth sheltered home, a basement only house. Interior temperature in the hottest of summer days has never been above 72 degrees. The garage stays in the sixties all summer. Windows on the south side provide lots of light year round but the sun only shines directly into them in winter.

I have planted Bur Oak trees to the west as they are drought resistant and long lived. They are slow growing but can become over fifty feet tall and as much wide. They will be good shade as our pine forests suffer a warmer, dryer, climate.

In Australia I work with people to deal with this issue.
In addition to the other good ideas, we encourage the following;
- drink water often
- shade the outside of the windows rather than have blinds down on the inside. The heat is trapped behind the glass inside the house.
- If you can install what I call a "cool roof' essentially a shading secondary roof it will reduce the heat load on the roof 38 deg. C
- ceiling fans set low in bedrooms help.
- planting deciduous trees around the house is useful.
- In the Middle east they have ponds of water in courtyards and draw air across the pools, into and upwards through the out with 'wind catchers'