12 Tips for Staying Cool in the Summer without Air Conditioning

It was at 5:30 am this morning that I realized just how much I needed to sleep, and just how much I needed to stay cool. We've been enjoying a bit of a heat wave this summer in the National Capital Region, with temperatures reaching the mid thirties and with the humidity, feeling like the mid fourties. It's hot, it's muggy, and it's damned uncomfortable. Of course, sleeping when the inside of your house barely dips below 28 is challenging, but doable. Here are twelve tips, in no particular order, that I've gleaned either from personal experience, or from friends who left me a helpful comment on my facebook to my call for help earlier this morning.

1. Close all your windows and draw the blinds

This one's a bit of a no brainer: Sun means heat, and hot air will infiltrate your house. Close all those windows to keep your cool in and draw the blinds so that you make the house nice and dark, keeping the heat of the sun outside, where it should be.

2. Vent your Home

When the temperature outside drops and is less than the inside temperature (such as at night), open up all your windows. Find some way to vent the hot air out, and to bring the cold air in. This can be venting fans, if there's a nice breeze, mother nature might take care of the work for you. Also, fans. Cieling fans, stand fans, anything that helps move air around will help you cool off.

3. Turn off and unplug your electronics

This is especially true at night. Even though your electronics might be off, a number of them still generate heat, especially those ugly power bricks. This will also have the added benefit of reducing your phantom power load.

4. Go Underground

If you're lucky, and you have a finished, or even partially finished basement, set up an air mattress or some other bedding on the floor of your basement. This will be, guaranteed, to be the coolest place in the house. After all, cold air sinks, hot air rises!

5. Ice, Ice, Baby

Placing a bowl of ice or some other cold substance in front of a fan can cool the air that gets to you. This can help drop the temperature in a room by a degree or two. Disadvantages include having to refill the ice, and potentially increasing the relative humidity of the room you're cooling.

6. Be a mooch

Do you have friends? Do those friends have houses? Do they have AC or pools? Play the pity card and get yourself invited to cool down at a friend's or family member's house. Bring wine, and make an evening out of it!

7. Seek air-conditioned opportunities

We have a 24-hour Tim Hortons in walking distance from our house. This means that if things get really bad, you can cool off with a hot cup of coffee (LOL!) in a nice air conditioned Tim Hortons. I wonder if they'd let me push some tables together and make a bed? Other good ideas include public libraries, book shops (Chapters anyone?), IKEA (they even have beds set up FOR you!), etc. Some places will let you get away with spending several hours as long as you lay out a bit of cash. Some even have free internet access!

8. Clothing Optional

I have a problem being near-naked, even in the privacy of my own home. But removing clothing can be a great way of cooling down. I know, it seems a bit obvious, but this is one of those situations where function beats fashion (and self-esteem!) in spades.

9. Cool Showers

Your body cools off through evaporation. You sweat, the sweat evaporates and takes some of your heat away from you. It's an important part of your day-to-day biological routines. You can speed up the evaporation process by taking a cool shower and standing under or in front of a fan. Don't towel off! The beads of water will absorb your heat, and the air from the fan will evaporate it, leading to cooling. It feels GLORIOUS, and is a good way of keeping clean. ;-)

10. Keep Hydrated

When it's hot, you will sweat a lot (see "Cool Showers" above). It's important to keep yourself properly hydrated to prevent dehyrdation and to encourage sweating (it's a good thing, I swear). If you're sweating profusely and not eating (heat is an appetite suppressant, trust me!), you risk an electrolyte emabalnce (your sweat isn't just water, it's a variety of salts as well). Try downing a beverage which helps maintain your electrolyte balance, but don't load up too too much; some sports drinks can be full of sugar.

11. Avoid Alcohol

Sometimes the best cure for the heat is a nice, cool beer, or a margarita. Unfortunately, in cases of extreme heat such as lately, alcohol can contribute to dehydration and lead to heat stroke. So stick to ice water, and you'll be fine. If you must add a few lemon or cucumber slices for a really refreshing treat.

12. I scream, you scream, we all scream for ...

Ice Cream. This one is purely psychological, I know, and isn't good for your waistline or your pancreas, but man, ice cream is delicious and will help you fell cool. Popsicles, sorbet, gelato, whatever. It's all the same. It feels good. Watermelon is also a nice summer treat.

Whatever method you choose though, there may be times when the heat is just too overwhelming. If at any time you feel yourself sweating excessively, are cramping, becoming pale, shaky, dizzy, etc. you may be experiencing Heat Exhaustion, a precursor to heat stroke. The first course of action is to get yourself into a cool place, and seek medical treatment. You don't want to play with fire on this one. Prevention is, as always, the best way to treat heat stroke and heat exhaustion and other heat-related illnesses, but do make sure to take care of yourself, and those around who may not have access to cool areas.

So stay cool friends... Summer is finally here!