The UK will continue to bask in the summer heatwave this week, with temperatures possibly climbing higher than 40C in some areas. The weather has been warmer than popular holiday destinations around the globe, with Manchester's conditions outshining Turkey's on Monday.
While the sunshine means we can enjoy more time outdoors and with family and friends, it also brings with it some disadvantages. These include hayfever, the risk of sunburn and heatstroke, and just keeping cool in general.
Staying in the shade and keeping your blinds and curtains closed can help, as well as plugging in a fan to reduce the impact of the heat. But what about the drinks you consume?
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While you might be tempted to reach for an ice-cold drink to help cool you down, surprisingly hot drinks such as teas and coffees may actually be more effective. A study in 2012 by researchers from the University of Ottawa looked at the effect of drinking hot drinks on body temperature.
The results revealed that a hot drink can cool you down, but only in dry conditions. Speaking to the Smithsonian Mag, Dr Ollie Jay, one of the authors of the study, explained: “If you drink a hot drink, it does result in a lower amount of heat stored inside your body, provided the additional sweat that’s produced when you drink the hot drink can evaporate.”
Essentially, when you ingest a hot drink, you start sweating more. If the sweat is able evaporate, it actually cools you down, more than compensating for the added heat to the body from the fluid, reports the Mirror. While sweating can be embarrassing, it’s an essential bodily function to help keep us cool.
As the sweat evaporates from the surface of your skin, it removes excess heat by converting the water from a liquid to a vapour. However, in humid conditions this cooling effect is less effective, so drinking hot drinks won’t help to cool you down.
Dr Jay explained: “On a very hot and humid day, if you’re wearing a lot of clothing, or if you’re having so much sweat that it starts to drip on the ground and doesn’t evaporate from the skin’s surface, then drinking a hot drink is a bad thing. The hot drink still does add a little heat to the body, so if the sweat’s not going to assist in evaporation, go for a cold drink.”
Overall, the lesson learned is that in hot, dry conditions, drinking hot drinks will cool you down, but if you’re in a humid location, it’s best to stick to cold beverages.
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