Hot tea, you will drink (yes, if ...)

At the office, at home or at the beach, 35 degrees makes it hot! Our ideas not to choke on the heat and to easily offer a breath of fresh air.

It is too hot, and if we adopted the "Bedouin attitude"?

Accustomed to temperatures above 35 ° C and drought, in the desert, the Blues men drink mostly hot sweet mint tea . Why ? "The body is better hydrated, longer , and the tea also makes you sweat. This is how we remove the heat, "says Ramdan Azizi, former head of the bivouac of the Arabian Nights, Ouled Driss, at the gates of the Sahara, in southern Morocco *. An anti-heat wave strategy much more effective than the ultra-cool drink. Why ? " When you drink iced, at less than 15 ° C, explains Professor Véronique Bach, director of the laboratory Peritox, at the University of Amiens, we send a signal of" cold "directly to the brain. Normally, it is our epidermis that tells us about the temperatures. In response, the diameter of the blood vessels and the perspiration decrease a little, which prevents the heat of the body to evacuate in the air which surrounds us. "Well, with a glass of cold drink, we risk nothing ... but we avoid to go down in one go the bottle stored in the fridge.

* www.croqnature.com/ouleddriss.htm

A fully dressed shower, you'll take

Wet clothes take longer to dry and thus maintain a continuous coolness on the skin.

It's not workable everywhere. In which case, when you bathe, the ideal is to let dry in the sun rather than wipe. "It is the evaporation of this water contained in the garment which evacuates the heat of the body," explains Professor Jean-Pierre Libert, Jules Verne University of Picardy, and a specialist in thermoregulation . " By soaking the skin, we are less likely to become dehydrated because we draw much less in its stock of water and mineral salts. » The ideal temperature? 30 ° C, a lukewarm water. " If it's too cool, the sweat stops and we stop our heat defense mechanisms, our blood vessels close and blood pressure can increase," says the specialist.

Your cold receivers, you will pamper

These little snitches who react to the cold inform the brain of the weather. "There is between 1 and 5 per cm ² on the hand, explains Dr. Dominique Rose *, responsible for the Neurobranched site. On the face, the density is 16 to 19 per cm ² . A shot of water on the face or arms is enough to feel the coolness. It is better to avoid complete immersion in a fresh bath : there is a risk of thermal shock ! The cold is perceived as soon as the difference is 6 ° C (knowing that the skin temperature is 32-35 ° C approx.). Older people, who sweat little, can be sprayed with a mist on the face , neck, forearms or legs.

* And responsible for the pathology unit of sleep and vigilance, University Hospital of Amiens.

The fan, you will use

Controversial, the fan?

It is criticized, when it is 40 ° C , to stir only hot air, which may warm the room and we with . Not wrong . But as we also promote the phenomenon of evaporation of perspiration , the balance is rather positive. So, yes to the fan . One can even stand in front of a tray of ice cubes or a wet towel and soak up gambols and arms before exposing them to his breath.

Gaspacho, you will consume

It is recommended to drink 2 liters of water a day in the summer ( before feeling thirsty ) to compensate for the loss of water in our body. You can also refuel liquids by eating fruits such as melon, watermelon, strawberries ... or gaspachos (not iced). Interest? By consuming liquid foods, you are also full of mineral salts.

At two, you'll stay

Torn between a game of beach volleyball or the desire to bask on a deckchair?

Option 2 is the most desirable. By working, the muscles generate heat. At rest, sitting, we already produce about 180 watts but, in action, we are around 450 watts . Under a burning sun, this heat is eliminated less well, it is then risk of hyperthermia, that is to say the hot blow (headaches, stomach pains, temperature rise, dizziness, etc.). . In particular between 11 and 21 h. For once we have a good reason to take it easy !

A mattress topper, you will adopt

But not just any.

The Climsom model, developed by a phlebologist , incorporates a system of small silicone tubing containing water. This network is itself connected to a housing that allows to control the temperature .

As a result, you can adjust your mattress overlay to 18 ° C and refresh your bed. It is essential to face muy caliente evenings . The heat disrupts falling asleep and even nocturnal recovery . For, during the first period of sleep, our excess internal heat is removed, a prerequisite for engaging in a good REM sleep. In addition, " during the night, the temperature of our body must fall by 1 ° C. This allows the body to live at a constant temperature throughout the day, says Prof. Damien Léger, head of the Sleep and Vigilance Center at Hôtel-Dieu (Paris). In the absence of conditioned mattress topper, all the means are good to manage to refresh the room: to ventilate after the sunset, to create drafts, or even to suspend wet towels to the windows ...

Climsom mattress topper, 349 €. On www.climsom.com

XXL clothes, you will wear

The small tops tight, it's cute , but their proximity to the body increases our indoor thermostat because air no longer circulates on the skin. " The ideal is the loose garment, type djellaba, advises Professor Libert. When we move, we make a bellows effect, we air, and this movement of air pulls the calories that are produced. "

Mint, you will abuse

In his tabbouleh or even in his sparkling water ... The neurobiologist David Julius, from the University of California, San Francisco, has demonstrated that menthol mint attaches to a receiver, the TRPM8. The latter, present on the body and in the mouth, is particularly sensitive to cold. Stimulated by mint, it sends the brain an immediate sensation of freshness.

In the cinema, you'll go

This is one of the many recommendations of the heat wave plan that the government operates every summer. He draws up a list of tips, including going to spend 2 to 3 hours a day in air-conditioned places , such as libraries, shopping centers or movie theaters.

Sweating is good

We all have an integrated air conditioner ! When it's very hot, we have two thermostat regulators . First of all, our blood vessels : spontaneously, they expand under the effect of heat and, suddenly, the influx of blood allows to evacuate more calories (energy, therefore heat). We also have 3 to 4 million sweat glands . By producing and excreting sweat, they refresh our skin while removing the excess heat that could accumulate in us.

2 tips to cool the house (without air conditioning)

In the absence of shutters or blinds, cardboard panels covered with aluminum foil can be installed outside the windows. This reflects 95% of infrared rays that do not enter the house.

We turn off all his electrical appliances (except the fridge and the freezer ...). The computer, the hi-fi system or the TV naturally emit heat. It is therefore better to turn them off than to leave them in standby mode to limit the heat sensation inside.