Mistakes you make when you want to chill | How many beers are too many, and when can a fan be life-threatening?

The ideal cooling trick depends a lot on the circumstances, so a fan can bring relief one moment and accelerate dehydration the next.

High temperatures force us to cool down in all possible ways, but we are not even aware of the danger that threatens us.

1. Cold or hot drink?

There are many controversies about what kind of drink we should drink during the unbearable heat. Despite the fact that even scientists did not agree unanimously, most of them still confirm that it is better to drink hot drinks on very hot days. Studies have been conducted where people first exercised strenuously and then had their core body temperature measured while drinking cold or hot drinks.

It has been proven that cold drinks are the most effective for cooling the body. But subsequently it was shown that hot drinks cool the whole body better due to the sweat reaction. But there is also a situation when hot drinks do not help – if there is very high humidity in the air or if you are wearing so many clothes that the sweat cannot evaporate. In these cases, stick to cold drinks, the BBC reports.

2. Fan

While some studies have proven their usefulness, others indicate that in high temperatures fans even backfire rather than help. It is generally believed that fans can be useful up to a temperature of 35°C (some say 37°C).

Moreover, blowing hot air all over the body can only increase its temperature, worsening the situation and leading to heat exhaustion. If it is very hot, fans can even increase dehydration, and are especially ineffective in case of increased humidity, when they further complicate the evaporation of sweat.

That they really do not help is also shown by the data that in 1999 in Cincinnati, 17 people died as a result of dehydration during the heat, and even 10 of them had the ventilator on. Scientists believe that if the temperature is higher than 37 degrees, the fan should be turned off.

3. Open windows

Although you may think that opening a window will ease your problems, this may be the wrong choice if the temperature outside the apartment is higher than the temperature inside. Open the windows only at night.

4. Beer

A beer or two won’t hurt and will definitely hydrate you. But when it comes to extreme heat, stick to just a few refreshing cold drinks to avoid the backlash and dehydration.

Namely, although isotonic sports drinks and plain water are more effective in hydration, beer is also a much better hydrator than expected.