Hot, hotter, hottest: with temperatures that can go up to 36 degrees, it will be tropical in Brabant in the coming days. Many people get lazy. How come we get so tired of that heat? And do you have to put the air conditioning on the freezing cold position or not? Thermophysiologist Koen Levels knows all about it.
With these high temperatures you may prefer to be stretched out in front of a fan. That is not surprising, because the heat demands a lot from our body. “Cooling costs a lot of energy. That immediately means that you have less energy to be alert or do active things,” says Levels.
Due to the warm weather, it is a lot harder for your body to get rid of heat. That’s because your environment is a lot warmer. “As a person you produce a lot of warmth. You normally give this to the environment through your skin. That is hardly possible with the warm weather.”
Our body has therefore devised another way to cool down. That only costs a lot more energy and can also stink: sweat. And Levels know that the energy you use for sweating can no longer use for anything else.
A siesta during physical work
Yet, according to him, there are solutions to prevent that fatigue, such as taking a nap during your work. “If you do work what costs a lot of energy, you can do this better at times when it is not that hot. That’s why they keep siestas in some countries. That would also be something for us on the warmer days.”
Because of the heat it may be that you don’t get to sleep well. “Try to cool your room with an air conditioner or fan. A air conditioner is actually the best. If it is extremely hot, a fan makes no sense. Unless you put a few bottles of frozen water for it,” says Levels.
A cold by the air conditioning
It can only be good that you get a good cold after a night next to the air conditioning. ENT doctor Jan-Pieter de Mönnink knows why. “The low temperature gives stimulation of your nasal mucosa, creating a swelling and therefore snot. It happens especially with transitions between heat and cold. Some people already suffer from the air conditioning of a car.”
That does not mean that we have to turn off the air conditioning at night. “It is not bad to sleep with the air conditioning on, because it is better for your sleep if it is a bit colder. You just don’t have to make it too cold. Many people put the air conditioning at 18 degrees, while it is 30 degrees outside. That is not handy. You have to put your air conditioning around 21 degrees. Not colder, advises the Mönnink.
This article appeared earlier in 2022.