A little trick to all of those who live in a hot country this summer :)

[goldenpeach]

Ok, some of us will have some very hot day this summer(assuming you're in the north hemisphere): if so, you will probably want to refresh yourself.

So, for those who will want to do so, here a simple trick: get some cold water( it's not necessary to be water coming out of a refrigerator, just colder than the outside*)

Then, put the water on your forearm, it will refresh you way faster than you think(source: tried it several time, it refresh a LOT): a few second is sufficient.

After you tried it(if you tried it), you will probably wonder why it refresh so much, here's the answer:

the vein on your forearm are close to your skin, closer than any part of your body**, which mean that the heat resistance is low, since there is not a lot of skin to protect from the heat(or cold): by putting the cold water on it, it permit to cool rapidly the blood running there, which will permit to refresh the whole body at the end.

Have a nice summer!

*I said colder, not bigger

**It might not be true, I'm no biologist:but the vein are closer than average on your forearm; it it sufficient to work

[luizopiloto]

So... forearm is a radiator...

[MrZayas1]

Im not sure if this is how it works but I am very skinny person, so my body itself is one giant radiator, and I get cold quickly!

[LordFerret]

Cool tap water over the wrists works too, as does dampening a towel/cloth and draping it over the back of your neck... conversely as well for warming up.

I've heard argument by many about this as well: Drinking a hot liquid on a hot day causes your body to cool itself down, a reaction by the body in its attempt to lower the internal body temperature due to the hot liquid in the stomach. Conversely, drinking a cold liquid on a cold day causes your body to warm itself up, a reaction by the body in its attempt to raise the internal temperature due to the cold liquid in the stomach.

I rely on air conditioning in the summer, and hat/coat/boots/gloves in the winter... and brandy, definitely brandy.

[Albert VDS]

Thanks for the tip!

and brandy, definitely brandy.

But brandy, or any alcohol, doesn't warm you up. The alcohol causes the blood vessels to dilate, which causes blood to move closer to the surface of the skin.

This way heat is lost true your skin more quickly and your core body temperature actually drops.

[prophet_01]

I go for the hot fluid thing as it works for me (or placebo does ). I've got a pretty low blood presure and have to be quite carefull in summer in order to avoid a blackout.

Be carefull about cold fluids in winter though. If your body is already mildly hypothermic, you don't want to stress it further by having a cold drink. Hot tea seems to be a good idea regardless of season and weather

[Charzy]

I've heard argument by many about this as well: Drinking a hot liquid on a hot day causes your body to cool itself down, a reaction by the body in its attempt to lower the internal body temperature due to the hot liquid in the stomach. Conversely, drinking a cold liquid on a cold day causes your body to warm itself up, a reaction by the body in its attempt to raise the internal temperature due to the cold liquid in the stomach.

The first reaction you're talking about is just sweat. Go ahead and drink a large mug of hot tea as fast as you can without burning yourself. When you're done, you'll start feeling cool within a minute or two because you'll be sweating a lot.

[Frida Space]

This is what we always did before football matches on sunny, hot days

[Rune]

Ok, some of us will have some very hot day this summer(assuming you're in the north hemisphere): if so, you will probably want to refresh yourself.

So, for those who will want to do so, here a simple trick: get some cold water( it's not necessary to be water coming out of a refrigerator, just colder than the outside*)

Then, put the water on your forearm, it will refresh you way faster than you think(source: tried it several time, it refresh a LOT): a few second is sufficient.

After you tried it(if you tried it), you will probably wonder why it refresh so much, here's the answer:

the vein on your forearm are close to your skin, closer than any part of your body**, which mean that the heat resistance is low, since there is not a lot of skin to protect from the heat(or cold): by putting the cold water on it, it permit to cool rapidly the blood running there, which will permit to refresh the whole body at the end.

Have a nice summer!

*I said colder, not bigger

**It might not be true, I'm no biologist:but the vein are closer than average on your forearm; it it sufficient to work

Actually, I was told by more than one source I've long since forgotten (so take with a grain of salt) that this has to do with where the body takes temperature measurements (mostly, in the neck and wrists): get your neck and wrists cold, and your central system will believe your are cooling, so it will shut down the heat warnings and cooling systems (i.e: you will feel colder and stop sweating), and even turn on the heaters is the change is fast enough (rise metabolic rate, increase movement in general). Same reason you should wet your wrists and neck before going into a very cold body of water, like the northern sea where I live in summer: if you cheat your body into thinking you are colder than you think, by the time you are completely inside the water the thermal shock will be less severe. That one I test, like, every hot summer day: the Cantabrian sea is chilly!

Rune. Because, science!

[lajoswinkler]

I've heard argument by many about this as well: Drinking a hot liquid on a hot day causes your body to cool itself down, a reaction by the body in its attempt to lower the internal body temperature due to the hot liquid in the stomach. Conversely, drinking a cold liquid on a cold day causes your body to warm itself up, a reaction by the body in its attempt to raise the internal temperature due to the cold liquid in the stomach.

I rely on air conditioning in the summer, and hat/coat/boots/gloves in the winter... and brandy, definitely brandy.

That's an old wive's tale using a false premise that same should be treated with same. It will increase the total temperature of the body. Bodies have limits, feedback loops and variable responses, unlike simple heat engines.

Drinking hot fluids on a hot summer day (especially if it's humid) is a great recipe for at least feeling awful and might trigger problems when the blood vessels dilate which causes pressure drop. Depending on one's body condition such as fitness, chronic illnesses, it could cause fainting or worse.

Drinking especially cold fluids presents a shock for the body, too. Best thing is to drink mildly cold isotonic or hypotonic drinks.

[justidutch]

I have often done this during timeouts, or between games, in sports. Run water from a fountain over your wrists for half a minute, you feel a little more refreshed.

[spudman2]

Also, if one is hot and only has a fan, you can drench a towel and use it like a blanket. Evaporative cooling!

[Camacha]

That's an old wive's tale using a false premise that same should be treated with same. It will increase the total temperature of the body. Bodies have limits, feedback loops and variable responses, unlike simple heat engines.

Drinking hot fluids on a hot summer day (especially if it's humid) is a great recipe for at least feeling awful and might trigger problems when the blood vessels dilate which causes pressure drop. Depending on one's body condition such as fitness, chronic illnesses, it could cause fainting or worse.

Again, so many absolute statements. Where is the substatiation? Without it, it is just another old wive's tale.

[lajoswinkler]

Again, so many absolute statements. Where is the substatiation? Without it, it is just another old wive's tale.

It's not old wive's tale, it's what every physiologist and doctor will tell you.

Please stop trolling with the "absolute statements". There are four of them and they are correct and in agreement with human physiology. Care to elaborate why they aren't?

[Camacha]

It's not old wive's tale, it's what every physiologist and doctor will tell you.

Quotes, research papers of other proof please. Until then, it is an old wive's tale. If you claim anything, especially if you claim it so adamantly, you will need to show you have the facts on your side. Just a slightly differently worded nuh-uh will not do.

Please stop trolling with the "absolute statements".

The statements are absolute, and the substantiation is absent. I understand your frustration when someone calls you out, but it is merely the logical result of the premise. Absolute statements require absolute proof.

Edited July 4, 2015 by Camacha

[Javster]

Another way to do it is to wrap an icepack in a teatowel, then rest your wrists on it. You can keep playing KSP that way.

[sjwt]

Over ehar in Australia we have had for years now neck bands you can buy, they have water absorbing crystals in them, like what you can use in gardens and the like to hold extra water, they swell up and fill with water and slowly release it, keeping you cooler, I used them a lot in Factory work, magic pure magic.

Another good trick is to get a water backpack and keep taking little sips from it, your sweeting will keep a lot more if you have a continual but slow intake of water to replace it.

[ZetaX]

Over ehar in Australia we have had for years now neck bands you can buy, they have water absorbing crystals in them, like what you can use in gardens and the like to hold extra water, they swell up and fill with water and slowly release it, keeping you cooler, I used them a lot in Factory work, magic pure magic.

If they cool the throat only, that's probably fine. But cooling the neck itself can cause severe neck pains.

[Cosmic_Farmer]

If only I could do the same thing to my laptop without frazzling the circuits. My laptop instantly switches itself off when it reaches a dangerous temperature, and for the last couple of months, I've had to have a desk fan pointed at it to stop this from happening. A couple of days ago, even with the extra fan on, the laptop switched itself off. I realised that as it was so hot outside, the fan wasn't even blowing cold air any more.

[-Velocity-]

I don't know about a little cold water on the arm... somehow I doubt that a little water on the arm is enough to make a large difference, but I do know something that does. I'm living in Phoenix right now, so when I encountered a few snow drifts while hiking in Arizona (near Flagstaff) last weekend, I couldn't resist laying down in them... it only lasted about a minute before I got really cold!!!

I even built a snowman and took pictures of it antagonize my colleagues sweating instantly-vaporizing buckets not-so-far-away in 110 degree F Phoenix (it's not like there isn't an open offer from me to carpool them to cooler climes).

(I'm from Alabama, so I'm still a little in awe that there can be snow drifts, giant trees, and fields full of green grass and flowers only a few tens of miles away from 100+ degree baking desert.)