4 ways to stay cool during a heat wave

What do beach days, ice cream, and sunny weather have in common? If you guessed the summer season, your correct! Summer is one of the most enjoyable times of the year that Canadians like yourself are always looking forward to. With weekends booked with camping trips and summer BBQ’s, it is easy to forget simple things like keeping hydrated. During a heat wave it can especially be hard to keep cool. Here are 4 ways you can keep cool during a heat wave.

1)Have access to water

Water can bring the bodies temperature down significantly enough to be effective in preventing heat stroke or exhaustion. Here are a couple tricks to bring the temperature down using water. If your children are playing outside the house, take the garden hose or any sprinklers and water down any hot surface such as the pavement. Simply, beaches, water parks, indoor/outdoor swimming pools can also be an excellent way to cool off.

2)Frozen treats

Trying to keep it healthy while beating the heat can also be a challenge seeing most frozen treats can be filled with sugar. Luckily, ice cream is not the only option to stay cool. Sorbet (made with real fruit) can easily be made at home using a popsicle mold. Smoothies can also be a great substitute as a cold drink by freezing strawberries, peeled bananas, pineapples, etc. Shaved ice with real fruit can also be another recipe to keep on hand during those incredibly hot days. Choosing fruits such as strawberry, blueberry and raspberry are great substitutes to sugar for any homemade treat to be sweet while being mindful of your family’s health.

3)Being out of direct sunlight

As simple as it sounds, shade is one of the easiest ways of keeping cool. Finding a big tree at a local park to sit under will allow shade to shield you from direct sunlight as well as UV rays from the sun. Follow the instructions as directed on your sunscreen bottle for reapplication. Most sunscreens need to be reapplied after two hours and fifteen minutes prior to sun or water exposure. Don’t forget keeping hydrated is a key part in preventing heat stroke or exhaustion.