Air Conditioning Deprived - Tips To Survive

By Ruby Liu on July 28, 2012

Summer time is definitely not my favorite season like it is for many others. While people love hitting the beach and lying out in the sun, summer is “H-E-double hockey stick” for me! Being Asian, my mom rarely ever opens the air conditioning. I hope there are others out there that can relate to my suffering. As a result, I find myself drenched in sweat by sitting in my own home. I’ve spent my summer trying to figure out different ways to stay cool during these long days and I’m going to share these tips for all you struggling folks as well.

1) Wear light clothing. Have you ever put on a tank top that was made with thick material and realized why you were still hot? Even though you think a tank top will help you stay a little bit cooler, you’re being counter-productive. Keep your daily wardrobe light, loose and airy. Along with light clothing, just avoid anything heavy in general such as socks and sneakers. Wear flip-flops and wear thin-cottoned items!

2) Eat light meals. Summertime definitely leads to a lower appetite due to the heat. Have you noticed how a large meal can make you feel heavier and warmer? Large meals will definitely raise your body temperature, making you feel hotter than you already are. Eat lighter and smaller meals that won’t weigh you down. Take advantage of the cool and crisp watermelon that is in season as well. It’s healthy and mostly water.

3) Keep hydrated! I cannot emphasize this enough! Drink lots and lots of water. Health websites may recommend 8 glasses a day, but I can assure you that you should be drinking more, especially if you’re sweating a lot. Add ice to whatever you drink too to make it refreshing. All you college students obviously love to drink. Alcohol, that is. Alcohol can actually raise your body temperature though, so you might want to maybe avoid it as much as you can. Caffeine will have the same effect too.

4) Wash your face. This tip may seem a bit silly, but if you’re sweating and feeling extremely hot, rinse your face with cold water! It’ll help cool you down and make you feel like a new person. An added plus is that it’ll keep your face clear and rid of all the sweat that can clog your pores. You can also take frequent showers or baths to cool you down as well.

5) Fan it out! To all the people that suffer like me and don’t have air conditioning on in their own home, invest in a fan! I swear that the fan in my room saves my life every night when I sleep. If you don’t want to buy a fan, make one. It works just the same and some air fanning towards your face is better than none, right?

6) Travel to places. Take advantage of everywhere that has air conditioning! I always go to the mall whenever I can because they have free air conditioning. Other places to go to are your friend’s houses (yes, I go to my friend’s homes to be in their air conditioning as sad as that is), the library, and movie theatres. There are so many different places that you can take advantage of so you won’t be dying of heat.