Summer is a great time to enjoy the outdoors! However, extreme heat can be very dangerous to your health. This is especially true for the very young, very old, and people with chronic medical issues such as high blood pressure and diabetes. Here are some tips to beat the heat this summer.
Stay hydrated! Be sure to drink plenty of water. By the time most of us are thirsty, we are already slightly dehydrated. As people get older, the thirst center of the brain becomes less sensitive. Elderly people may not think they are dehydrated until it is too late. How do you know you are well hydrated? You should be urinating at least every hour and the urine should be clear, not cloudy or dark colored. If this is not the case, your body is likely trying to hold onto water. I would recommend that you start drinking water until you feel the urge to urinate.
Eat plenty of fruits and vegetables. Most of these contain over 80% water and can provide more hydration along with electrolytes such as potassium, which is essential to prevent muscle cramps.
Stay cool, especially when the temperature is over 85 degrees Fahrenheit. Stay indoors or in the shade particularly between the hours of 12-3 when the sun is very intense. Drinking cold, non-alcoholic beverages can also keep your body temperature down. If you feel like you are overheating, jump into a pool or ocean to cool your body temperature down.
Keep you body covered. Wear wide brimmed hats or use an umbrella if the you must be outdoors for long periods of time in the sun. Clothing such as linen can cover up skin, while keeping it cool.
Avoid excessive exertion. Save the yard work for a cooler day. Go running or exercise indoors with air conditioning. Hot, humid, pollen-filled air can trigger respiratory problems in people with asthma or allergies.
Eat cool foods such as frozen juice pops, salads and cold soups such as gazpacho. Avoid heavy, greasy, hot-temperature foods. These can raise our body temperature and can make digestion more difficult. Avoid grilling as the heat from the grill can also raise your body temperature.
Check in with people around you, especially the elderly and the young. Some signs of health issues with heat include: mental confusion, racing heartbeat (usually over 100 beats per minute), dizziness upon standing, feeling tired/lethargic, shallow and rapid breathing, blurry vision, inability to urinate, nausea, and loss of appetite.
Take the stairs not the escalator or elevator. The gym I go to is underground and there are escalators and stairs. I’m always amazed when I see people who’ve been exercising at the gym on the treadmill or ironically, the stair master machine who end up choosing to take the escalator rather than the stairs! Every bit of extra exercise adds up, make it tougher on yourself and you’ll feel better.
Learn to cook! When you cook your own food, you know exactly what is and is not in your food. Many packaged and prepared foods use unhealthy oils, hidden unhealthy sugars such as corn syrup, and add exorbitant amounts of salt. Food manufacturers and restaurants know that salt, fat, and sugar make food taste better. Start simple with salads, like this tofu Caprese salad.
Eat fresh fruit. Avoid juices and dried fruit. While these may seem like good alternatives, we often over eat these. Yes, it may take more time to cut up and wash fruits such as apples and cherries, but the vitamins you get from fresh produce is always superior to processed versions.
Stop circling around the parking lot for the space closest to the store or your work place. Instead, pick a spot a little further away. Walking even an extra 2-3 minutes adds up when you consider how often we do it.
Carry your groceries in a basket not a cart. When you have to hold a basket you realize how much you’ve bought. This can help remind you to avoid over-shopping. Lifting that basket as you walk through the supermarket also helps to increase upper arm strength.
Take those electronic devices away from your kids for an hour or more. Go outside and play catch, tag, kickball, softball, frisbee, etc. By playing together as a family, you will teach your kids the value of physical activity and social skills. Sadly, these are being lost in our digital age. It may take more effort to engage your kids, but well worth it!
Turn waiting time into exercise time. If you are like me, you hate being put on hold while you are on the phone. I routinely put the phone on speaker and start doing squats or lunges until someone picks up the phone. It makes the time go faster and you get a decent workout.
Constipation is among one of the most common gastrointestinal issues. There are many factors contributing to constipation including a low fiber/lack of water in diet, medications such as opioids, and diseases such as hypothyroidism (underactive thyroid). A classmate of mine from residency training recently made an amazing series of videos on YouTube. Dr. Jamie Malcolm is a board-certified gastroenterologist and internist and he did an excellent job describing the symptoms and some remedies.
We are at a low point in human history right now, literally. As a people, we are sitting the most amount of time ever in human history. Even just 20 years ago, we got much more exercise than we do now. Remember going to the bank and waiting on line, and depositing your hard earned paycheck (literally a paper check!)? Or how about walking in a shopping mall and going from store to store every weekend? Now we have our salaries directly deposited to our bank, most of our things delivered to our doorstep and shopping while sitting on the couch.
All this sitting is taking its toll. We are becoming more obese and along with that, the incidence of diabetes and high blood pressure is also increasing. Prolonged sitting is also leading to chronic back pain. I believe that fifty years from now, we will look back on sitting the same way we look at smoking now. Why the hell were we sitting for so long throughout the day? Isn’t it obvious that sitting is killing us?
Is there a solution to this chronic sitting? Yes, let’s start standing. There are many standing desks available on the market. Many companies now provide sit/stand convertible desks for their employees. Some of them even make it mandatory that their employees use this type of desk! Quite progressive thinking in my opinion. You can’t expect workers to sit at their desks for eight to ten hours each day, working for several years, and not realize that they are going to suffer health consequences over the long term.
Are there downsides to standing desks? Yes, while the standing desk can alleviate pressure on the spine, it can worsen any preexisting knee, ankle or foot issues. Some people will slouch over the standing desk, especially if the height is too low. Here are a few tips to prevent these issues:
Avoid standing all day. I personally believe 100% standing is not the ideal solution. I would recommend perhaps our day should be divided, about 60-75% standing and 25-40% sitting. So a typical schedule would be to start the day off standing, sit from noon and an hour after lunch (I believe sitting is better for digestion than standing), then raising it back up for the rest of the day. This way, when you come back to work the next day, the desk is in the standing position ready to start over. I often see people who are very enthusiastic about standing desks for about one month, then they get “bored with the new toy” and end up just sitting at the desk. Make sure you are consistent with using the standing desk and keep using it.
Purchase an “antifatigue mat“. this is a squishy cushion-type area rug that relieves the stress on your feet. Standing all day on a hard surface can take it’s toll on your feet. Ask any waitress or cashier, and I’m sure they will tell you they wished they had a “sitting” job.
Wear comfortable shoes. Now that you are standing for longer periods of time, any weakness or inadequate support to your feet can result in pronounced pain or stress on the small bones and joints. Obviously, wearing high heels, flats, or being barefoot would not be advisable. I usually recommend wearing sneakers or a dress shoe that is designed with a good arch support.
Stretch every so often. Here are some stretches to loosen up the lower back.
If you don’t currently have a standing desk, you can try to avoid sitting. Set your smart phone to buzz every hour to remind you to take a “standing break”. How about standing when you are answering a phone call, or use a headset during a conference call, so you can stand up and walk around? Some smart watches and activity trackers can also alert you to move if you’ve been sitting too long.
We are learning that sleep is so important for our health. Need more proof, read The Sleep Revolution by Arianna Huffington (yes, the founder of The Huffington Post). There are two points that she makes beautifully. First, she mentions that we as a society have relegated one of the most important aspect of our lives to something that is insignificant. Take for example, in comic books when a character is sleeping there is a thought bubble in which there are “ZZZ’s”. Arianna points out this is symbolic of a society that has assigned the most insignificant and last letter of the alphabet to something we should be prioritizing. Maybe they should have a thought bubble with “AAA’s”. She also has an epiphany that is somewhat philosophical. She thinks that if she had prioritized sleep in her younger days, she could have been far more successful and productive now. From a scientific perspective, this is very possible. Scientists have found that brain development in humans is thought to extend to about 25 years old. That means you still develop connections in your brain up until that point, after which its all gradually downhill from there. I have been guilty of many “all nighters” studying and movie marathons in my high school and college years. Could that have stunted my potential and what I could have been capable of achieving further down in my life? Possibly. It is a frightening thought. I would encourage people with children to teach them the importance of getting a good night’s sleep each and every night.
