The overly warm weather that hit the UK last week with temperatures rising in some areas to over 30c I thought I would melt away before it cooled down. I reside in the Southeast where it was very hot. I literally had my fans on from early morning to middle of the night.
Here in the UK it is all or nothing. There is no longer the build up like there used to be when I was growing up in the 50’s. It is either cold or in a heartbeat hot, there is no in-between anymore.
My Dig of the Day
One of my son’s works in an office for the NHS. He is in a building that has massive windows everywhere. How he and his colleagues worked in those conditions without any air con is beyond me. I would not have been able to do it. There is no excuse for air con not to be installed, this building is separated away from the main hospital, even temporary free standing air con units would have made a great difference to the workers. Perhaps the powers that be need to wake up and smell the coffee because apparently our summers are going to be like this in the future, or accommodate their staff to be able to work from home where they can keep cooler by their own means. That is my little dig of the day but it needs to be said, that goes for a lot of companies who need to consider the hot as well as the cold for the wellbeing of their staff in the future.
On a lighter note, I twisted, turned and sweated throughout the nights, until about 2 a.m. in the morning where I managed to feel more comfortable and without the sound of the fan humming away in the background drifted off into dreamland. I was even more grateful I did not have to get up at the crack of dawn to try and do a day’s work after just a few hours kip!
My sister had a good tip, fill a hot water bottle with cold water, put it in the fridge for a bit, wrap it in a suitable cloth and put it where you need it most. She placed it behind her neck and found it cooled her down. There are loads of different tips on how to keep cool on these overly warm nights. For example, it is suggested to keep windows and curtains shut throughout the day, then fully open the windows at night to create a cross breeze. Taking a lukewarm bath or shower helps, not cold it should be lukewarm. Run cold water over pulse points such as wrists, ankles and neck. Although you might feel like that nice glass of cooled off wine or beer it is not a good idea it will raise the body temperature and so will too much caffeine. Sleeping downstairs where the heat is less is another way to combat the hot nights if you are able. Get rid of synthetic materials on the bed and use cotton or bamboo which is breathable.
The thing is sleep is important to be able to function the next day. If you are working and looking after a family, lack of sleep can drain energy levels and make you feel lethargic making everything a struggle to do.
People who have health concerns should be extra careful to keep themselves cool.
Now how am I going to cope with the next imminent heatwave here in the UK, I have ordered two fans that can be worn around the neck from Amazon after one of the grandkids showed me their handheld fan which was quite effective, but the ones I have ordered can be worn on a strap around the neck, we will see. If these fans are any good I will put a link to them on here.
Additionally, I will close the curtains, put on my fans and pray for snow!
