The miserable, stifling heat hasn’t abated.Now, his third of Americans are under a heat alert as temperatures continue to break records: 110 degrees Fahrenheit reached in Phoenix 2 weeks in a rowthis weekend in Death Valley, California may exceed The highest temperature ever recorded is 130 degrees.
Even hotter than that is dangerous. Recently, in Texas, Louisiana, parts of Arizona, and Florida, report of fatalities (number) from the heat and much more hospitalization. The damage caused by heat waves is not necessarily clear at this time. A new report suggests thatt Last summer, Europe experienced a historic heatwave that killed more than 60,000 people.
Ideally, spend as much time indoors in an air-conditioned room as possible. It’s not an option for anyone. Another thing is to stay hydrated. The importance of adequate hydration is difficult to overstate and often underestimated. Last month, the Texas legislature banned local governments from requiring construction workers to take breaks. In the heat, hydration “affects everything,” Stavros Kavras, director of the Institute for Hydration Science at Arizona State University in Phoenix, told me. As temperatures continue to rise, the right measures are essential.
Severe dehydration is really bad for you. Blood volume is reduced, and the heart’s work slows down. “The body’s ability to regulate body temperature is compromised, so it’s getting hotter and hotter,” Cabouras told me. You may feel weak or dizzy. Heart rate increases. It becomes difficult to concentrate. The worst-case scenario is heat stroke, where your body can no longer cool down, creating a potentially fatal emergency.
In extreme temperatures, heat damage can occur sooner than you think. Considering that the human body is mostly water, you might think that there is plenty of room for water, but unfortunately that is not the case. “If you lose even 10 percent, [the water] Your body is entering the zone of severe clinical dehydration,” Kavras said. “And when you look, Optimal Health-wise, losing even 1% of your body weight can affect your ability to function. “He has two basic ways to cool down when it gets hot. One is to get more blood to the skin and release heat from the core of the body. This is why it turns red when overheated. Another is sweating. It evaporates from the body, losing excess heat in the process. Without adequate hydration, the body cannot cool down effectively. At the same time, one of the main cooling mechanisms is active dehydration. In other words, the purpose is not just to dry. Become I’m hydrating, but keep it that way.
What you need depends on many factors rather than a single universal rule, but generally the danger zone is “high humidity above 90 degrees”, at which point just being outdoors is “actually It’s dangerous,” said Cabouras. The more you work in the heat, the hotter and more humid the risk is, and the more important it is to stay hydrated. Standard water goals for the United States during non-heatwave periods are 3.7 liters per day for men and 2.7 liters for women. When it’s very, very hot, you need more. Even if you spend most of your day in air-conditioned bliss, it’s almost certainly time to leave the house. Several point.
Instead of trying to figure out the exact amount, Kavras recommends focusing on two things. “No. 1. Keep water nearby. When you have water or a healthy drink nearby, you drink more just because it’s close,” he said. Next, pay attention to how often you pee. Light-colored urine he should pass 6-7 times a day, or every 2-3 hours. “Basically something like Chablis, Riesling, Pinot Grigio, or champagne,” John Higgins, a sports cardiologist at UT Health’s McGovern School of Medicine in Houston, told me. “If you notice your urine getting darker, like Chardonnay or Sauvignon Blanc, it generally means you’re dehydrated.”
Certain groups are particularly at risk. Older people are more susceptible to dehydration, as are young children, pregnant women, and people taking certain medications, such as blood pressure medications.You don’t need to take any of these addition Hydration itself is necessary, but you need to be extra careful to make sure you’re getting enough.
When it comes to what to drink, nothing beats plain water as a staple drink. The water with fruit slices has the advantage of making you feel like you are in a luxury hotel. Carbonated water is good, too, with a potential drawback of not drinking too much, but “there’s nothing in the digestive system that makes it less hydrating,” Kavras says. You probably don’t want to drink too much coffee in a bucket. Caffeine is a diuretic in high doses, and Higgins warns against sugary drinks for the same reason. (Drinking iced coffee every day is fine.) If you’ve been sweating profusely for hours, a sports drink (low in sugar) is a good idea. But for most people, water is still ideal. Food can also be a source of hydration. “Make sure you’re eating a diet rich in hydrating vegetables and fruits,” says William Adams, director of Moisture, Environment, and Thermal Studies (HEAT) at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro. stress lab, advice.causative alcohol lose Fluid, it is definitively useless.
There are many myths about water in the world. Is it okay to try too hard? Technically, over-hydration can cause an electrolyte imbalance, but all three experts agreed that for most people, this isn’t too much of a concern.discoverable argument There is an idea that drinking hot drinks in the summer increases sweating. it promotes cooling. But Cabouras stresses that it’s better to have a cold drink to cool the body down. Marathon runners sometimes go a step further and sip ice slurries to cool down just before a race. As good old drinking water, 50 degrees Fahrenheit The temperature of the cold water coming out of the faucet is optimal.
The final key to staying hydrated is to start early. According to Higgins, many people are always mildly dehydrated, whether there’s a heat wave or not. “Especially when you wake up in the morning, you’re often dehydrated.” So he recommends drinking a standard water bottle (about 17 ounces) as soon as you wake up. . Another thing people forget, he said, is what happens when you endure outdoors and then come back indoors. “You keep sweating,” he pointed out. In other words, after rehydrating keep hydration.
Hydration is very important, but it’s no miracle. “You can’t say, ‘I’m going for a run in 120 degrees because I’m well hydrated, but I’m drinking a lot so I’m fine,'” says Kavras. . “It just doesn’t work.” Still, it’s a simple but effective tool. As heat waves like this one become more frequent, more people will need to learn how to stay hydrated. And perhaps the right amount of water can be some kind of perverted comfort. You can’t control the unrelenting heat, but you can probably control your water intake. During heatwaves, it’s helpful to drink half-filled and empty glasses of water.
This story is part of the Atlantic Planet series sponsored by HHMI’s Science Education Media Group.