A dangerous heat wave is spreading across the United States, with temperatures climbing toward 100 degrees. With heat warnings affecting more than 154 million Americans, it’s important to know how to prepare yourself. I talked to my friend Dave Price, the weather anchor of WNBC, who shared his best advice for how to cope with the heat:
Common sense rules when it comes to excessive heat. The combination of extreme temperatures and glaring sunlight simply wears the human body down.
Think of yourself as an iPhone. You know when you leave an iPhone outside in the sun and it sends a message to you that it can’t do anything until it cools down? Well — your body does the same thing.
Like you would for your phone — keep yourself in a cool location, avoid direct sunlight, and don’t over-exert yourself in these conditions. It’s not rocket science — but people still somehow don’t pay attention to their own body’s signals when it comes to extreme weather conditions!
Watch for headaches, dizziness, nausea, and/or an absence of sweating even though you should be.
Preventative measures and remedies are easy too:
- Drink lots of water, avoid caffeine
- Seek air conditioning or shade
- Take frequent showers or jump in a pool to cool down
- Wear light clothing
- Make sure you eat healthy.
Keep yourself strong to battle the oppressive elements— or better yet — avoid those dangerous conditions altogether and take a day to just chill on the couch! You deserve it anyway!
