Misconceptions About Cooling Down in the Summer
What's the best to eat when it's hot in the summer? It's a very common phenomenon to lose one's appetite in the summer. People often try to cool down to improve their appetite, but there are many misconceptions in the process of cooling down. Do you know these misconceptions?
Drinking Beer Can Cool You Down
In the hot summer, the body sweats a lot, consumes a lot of energy, and is prone to fatigue. Continuously drinking beer will cause the "warm" sensation from alcohol to persist, making thirst and sweating even worse. This not only fails to cool you down but also reduces a person's thinking ability and work efficiency.
Correct approach: Drink beer in moderation, don't treat it as a beverage.
Overindulging in Cold Drinks
In the hot summer, frozen drinks are especially popular with the public, and some children often overindulge in them for a momentary cool-down.
Expert advice: Excessive consumption of cold drinks can reduce resistance in the throat, leading to respiratory diseases such as acute pharyngitis, tonsillitis, and bronchitis. It can also damage the spleen and stomach, causing digestive issues like abdominal pain, diarrhea, and even bloody stools.
Correct approach: Do not drink large amounts of ice-cold beverages after strenuous exercise. It's recommended to let drinks taken from the fridge sit at room temperature for a moment before drinking. Certain patients with chronic illnesses should be more selective about cold drinks. For example, those with coronary heart disease, asthma, or chronic bronchitis should not eat frozen foods; those with gastric ulcers or excessive stomach acid should avoid cold, acidic drinks.
The Darker the Sunglasses, the Better They Protect Your Eyes
Under the scorching summer sun, many people wear sunglasses. Many believe that the darker the sunglasses, the better they protect the eyes. In fact, lenses that are too dark can significantly reduce visibility, and the eyes can be easily strained from trying to see, leading to damage.
Experts suggest that the standard for choosing summer sunglasses is that the lenses should allow 30% of visible light to pass through. Gray and green are the best choices. This not only blocks UV rays but also provides the best clarity of vision and the least color distortion of external objects.
Going Shirtless in Hot Weather Will Keep You Cooler
Under the scorching sun, you can always see some people going shirtless, which is also a misconception. Research shows that going shirtless can only cool the body through increased radiation and conduction when the skin temperature is higher than the ambient temperature. However, on the hottest summer days, the high temperature is often close to or exceeds 37°C. The skin not only cannot dissipate heat but actually absorbs heat from the environment. Therefore, going shirtless in the summer will make you feel hotter.
Correct approach: The hotter it gets, the less you should go shirtless. Women should also avoid wearing very short skirts.
Air Conditioners Should Be Kept at a Constant Temperature
Many people try to keep their homes at a constant or near-constant temperature when using air conditioning in the summer. However, medical meteorologists have found through experiments that constantly adjusting the room temperature can keep the body's physiological temperature regulation mechanism in a "state of tension," thus gradually adapting to larger temperature changes and improving the body's self-protection ability.
Correct approach: The temperature of the entire room should change continuously, but the range should be controlled between 3°C and 5°C.