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The weather in the UK is hotting up again. After a cool start, August is looking to top 30C in the next week, particularly in the South. (Sorry, Scotland.)
But while there may only be short bouts of hot weather during the British summer, but you still need to keep hydrated. Nothing is worse than waiting through sunny work days for the weekend, only to wake up Saturday with a pounding headache, a dry mouth, and a cranky attitude. Make sure you’re weekend ready by keeping on top of your water and electrolyte intake.
In this article, we cover how to keep yourself hydrated, and how to stay safe and keep cool in a heatwave.
Staying safe and cool in hot weather
The tips below will keep you safe, well, and cool during the summer. Heat exhaustion, heat stroke, and sunburn can have serious consequences if you’re not careful, such as hospitalisation and skin cancer. Take care, look after yourself, and enjoy the sunshine for longer by following a few simple steps.
While our heatwaves are lower in temperature than your average weekday in a Spanish summer, the surprise of a 25C after weeks of the mercury barely reaching 15C can be a shock to the system.
Hot weather puts the body under stress and wild swings in temperature are an even greater shock to the system, but here are some things you can try to keep cool and lessen that strain.
- Close your curtains during the day and open them in the evening; the same applies for windows. Keep the sunlight and hot air out, then let the cool evening air in when the direct sunlight has disappeared.
- When outside, wear loose clothing and keep your head covered. Wearing a hat in the sun can prevent headaches. It also shades your face to reduce the likelihood of sunburn.
- Stay out of the sun between 11am-3pm, the hottest part of the day.
- Put a layer of sunscreen on all skin exposed to the sun around 30 minutes before going outside. Reapply your sunscreen regularly. Even when the sun isn’t out, try to wear at least SPF 30 as UV light is still just as harmful through the clouds.
- To help you sleep, lay a damp towel on your pillow or put your pyjamas in the freezer in the morning so they’ll be nice and cold long enough for you to fall asleep. (For more on products to keep you cool, read our full article.)
- Prevent headaches and eyestrain caused by squinting when you’re outside by wearing sunglasses. If you’re a glasses wearer, then you can ask your optician about subscription sunglasses.
- Cooling sprays, ice packs, and cold showers are great ways for lowering your overall body temperature.
How to keep hydrated in hot weather
Make sure you drink at least eight glasses of water, or around 1.5-2 litres, per day. If you’re outside a lot, active, or just particularly sweaty, aim to drink an extra glass or two.
If your mouth feels dry, you’re already dehydrated. Slowly drink a glass of cold water; downing water can make you feel sick, so drink with control. You’ll need to drink slightly more than you think you need as thirst is usually quenched before rehydration happens. Once your mouth stops feeling dry, drink at least another half a glass.
With each sunny day, you’ll also need to consume a drink containing electrolytes, more on this below.
Signs of dehydration
- Urinating less
- Dry mouth
- No tears when crying
- Rapid heart rate
- Sunken eyes
- Lack of energy and being cranky
- You’re skin doesn’t spring back to normal after being pinched
Can coconut water hydrate you?
Coconut water comes from younger, green coconuts and is high in electrolytes.
Electrolytes are important for replacing the salt you lose in your sweat. When your minerals and salt levels are low, you can feel nauseous, dizzy, suffer from headaches, irregular heart beat, and muscle weakness or cramping.
Even when the weather is cold and mild, coconut water helps as a post-exercise recovery drink, as a natural alternative to sports drinks. The benefits include decreasing muscle cramps, strengthening bones, and improving overall health.
It’s also diabetic friendly, much like coconut sugar and coconut flour.
What other drinks are high in electrolytes?
- Sports drinks
- Diluted fruit drinks or clear broth.
- Smoothies
- Milk, especially skimmed
- Dioralyte
To change things up, and to make water taste more interesting, you infuse your water with fresh slices of lemon, cucumber, strawberries, or limes. Not only are you consuming fluid, you’ll also get a little fruity snack at the end. And, even better, the fruit will also contain vitamins and minerals your body needs for rehydration.
If you haven’t got time to wait around at home while your water becomes flavoured, you can buy a fruit infuser water bottle. Slice the fruit up, drop it into the infuser, fill the bottle with water and take it with you.
You can buy this Homeshopa Infuser Water Bottle from Amazon for less than £7, but these bottles are available at many other retail outlets.
