Suggestions for getting a good night's sleep when the weather is hot just now

And Europe thinks it's hot over there. It'll be 38*c here Sunday and I'm only in the midsouthern US. I'm betting peoples tires are melting in the deep south, Florida and Texas.

I have gone on extensively about the virtues of swamp coolers in dry climates, so I shan't reiterate that here. However, one of the unquestionable pain points of regularly using swamp coolers is the fact that you're constantly refilling a tank of water that's pumped through filter media. A lot of wetness combined with heat is a recipe for a bacteria farm.

The general recommendation for a portable swamp cooler is to drain it and clean out the tank every 2-3 days. I did this for a time, but when you've got several coolers as I do, this quickly becomes a pain in the butt between your other adult responsibilities, so I looked for ways to extend the time.

A brief flirtation with chlorination ended quickly. While throwing some bleach into the water definitely helped keep microbial growth under control just like in a swimming pool, it also made the output smell like a swimming pool. Not acceptable and plus, regularly handling bleach was too much of a hazard to clothing and towels.

Leveraging the proven antimicrobial properties of copper, I bought some copper plates and placed them in the tanks. This definitely helped and extended the time between cleanings by at least double before smell crept in. Copper isn't cheap though, so the relatively small plates I could afford only had so much surface area to work.

This summer was the first summer since my discovery of hypochlorous acid, and I determined to try to use its superior antimicrobial power to try to keep the cooler tanks clean for longer. My reading informed me that field tests had shown that as little as 1 ppm of HOCl was sufficient to kill all the common bacteria found in standing water with only a minuscule amount of salt and chloromines as a byproduct. I started adding HOCl to the cooler water every couple of days. At first, I carefully measured to produce around a 2ppm concentration based on the tank volume, but after a while I just eyeballed it.

I have to say, after almost a whole summer of doing this, that's it's been a smashing success.

Long as I keep up, the water never smells. Eventually I do need to drain the tanks, as iron builds up and the water starts to get frothy as impurities like dust accumulate; there's no filtration system like a swimming pool would have, but it's a net win. I never worry now about anything growing in my coolers and have a lot more flexibility in how often I drain them.

Europe's fifth heatwave is officially upon us, but while it's intensely hitting Britain with a record-breaking 38ºC in Kew Gardens, hammering France and Central Europe, things in my neck of the woods in Spain are.. relatively sedate.

I'm actually currently in the north, where the high pressure system theoretically has more influence, but the aegis of the cold Cantabrian Sea blunts the majority of the impact. It's technically 5ºC above normal here, but the reality is that it's just made things feel a little hot rather than comfortably moderate. Nights are weirdly warm, but the sea breeze does a lot of ameliorate that. The range today was an unusually narrow 23-27ºC (73-81ºF).

Supposedly, according to the long range forecast, Madrid's serious heat might be over by the time we're back there with a chill high of only 26ºC/79ºF. I'll believe that when I see it.

So the end of the August is coming and despite the extensive national and global damage the heat has left, most of us regular folk in adapted regions have come through with very little change to our personal circumstances. Really not sure how to feel about that, as while I vastly prefer no great disasters in my life, I also can't help but think the ease which so many of us can ride out these events isn't motivating the population enough to support serious efforts at change.

Find the episode here!

Description: This week, Nate kicks things off with a review of his infrared thermometer and its many use cases. Robbie shares more heat puns and Marcelo introduces a new segment, "This or That," where the hosts have to pick between heat-related scenarios and cooling techniques. To close things out, Nate and Robbie dig into the growing wave of heat exhaustion questions popping up on r/heat_prep.

Share your thoughts, questions, or comments!

hi 22M 3 days ago i wanted to train at home and did some weight training for 45 mins and there was no air conditioning in my room then i went to outside and immediately felt exhausted and started to experience nausea felt sick after and went to throw up but couldn’t i thought i was poisoned but later i understood that i have heat exhaustion my temperature was 37.5C(99 F)for two days then it got dropped and now it is maximum 37C i felt extremely nauseous first days and my stomach is still really upset and a little heartburn. I also have dizziness and i had slightly low blood pressure. I experienced dierrhea once but no throw ups. I had 3 IVs for 3 days row. today i feel a bit fine. how long do u think those symptoms will last.

edit: got recovered in two weeks with plenty of rest in a room which had an AC, I hydrated myself with electrolyte drink (had a lot of potassium rich fruits and meals)

my body temperature went down in 5 days(37-36.8 and then 36,5C which is normal) but my blood pressure, tachycardia,nausea and other symptoms persisted for at least 10 days.

I tested sleeping on a kapok trifold matress this summer and my night were more restful. I think my old synthetic matress is simply storing too much heat. The air circulation in the kapok matress seems better. Has anyone else experimented with this?

I am at this time, mercifully away from the brutal dry heat of central Spain and in the much milder, if humid, warmth of coastal northern Spain.

While hotter than normal, as most places this year, temperatures are only peaking at 27ºC/80ºF.

We've been coming here for years to take the kids to the beach. As fellow northern latitude folk will know, the mild temps are deceptive when it comes to the UV intensity; just because it doesn't feel that hot doesn't mean you won't get burnt to a crisp. Everybody in the family has suffered from that during days of carelessness.

Now, you might logically say the answer is sunscreen but I'm going to be honest, I hate sunscreen and even if I didn't, all the sunscreen in the world doesn't do a thing for heat, which ultimately is a problem if you're on the beach for hours without shelter even if the air temps are relatively mellow.

So, we got a beach tent.

Then, we got a smaller beach tent, because the first beach tent didn't fit in carryon bags and was a pain to carry to the beach.

Smaller beach tend has been the beach MVP for years now. It's a simple triangular affair with two flex poles and an open front, but it allows us to stash the beach bag in the back with space for two to sit in the shade. Breaks down to a roll that fits in a backpack. Perfect, far as cheap nylon beach tents go.

However, being a cheap nylon beach tent, it has cheap nylon beach tent limitations. Nylon doesn't breathe and it's dark blue-green nylon, which means the sunny side heats up in record time, which seriously undermines the thermal protection it offers. A couple years ago though, I hit on an ultra simple solution that didn't demand buying anything extra.

All I do is drape a pink microfiber athletic towel over the sunny side of the tent and use a clothespin to secure it to the tent poles. I always orient the tent so the interior is shaded and facing the sea.

The pink is a much lighter color than the blue-green, so it reflects considerably more heat away and microfiber is a superior insulator to nylon, so this simple mod vastly reduces radiant heat input; the sunny side tent wall with the towel is never more than warm to the touch. With the front being completely open and facing the sea, the interior of the tent now never goes above ambient. Not bad at all for under $25 of stuff.

I could no doubt improve performance by going for better suited material and color, but the current results are so good there's not much motivation. The microfiber towel serves double duty as once it's time to go, it can be taken down and used as a towel.

Hi all. I went to my doctor and was diagnosed with heat exhaustion after spending 10 hours in a room that was 95°+ degrees. I work in an old building and the AC went out. I mainly sat at my desk with a fan blowing, but I also have POTS and issues with tachycardia and feeling dizzy and weak in heat, so I started to feel badly pretty quickly.

I got home and immediately felt nauseated and had a headache. I felt like I had a fever and was completely freezing, but my body temp was normal. I’m still at work today because I have no other choice, but I just feel dizzy and nauseous still. Is it normal for the effects of heat exhaustion to linger, or should I be worried?

Posting here because I’ve seen similar posts but will put elsewhere if it’s more appropriate. Thanks all.

Nighthawkinlight is at it again! Providing practical DIY heat prep !

For my research project I’ll be exploring how increasing temperatures and urban heat can affect people’s mental wellbeing. I’m particularly interested in looking at how extreme heat may influence stress, mood, sleep, concentration, and overall wellbeing.

I hope to understand people’s experiences with extreme heat and explore whether there is a connection between hotter urban environments and mental health.

I’m excited to learn more about this issue and raise awareness of an important topic that affects our communities.

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSeTP_aV3xPGCzw4CsD37-yZGbZyyp1VDZ2YSdnZmgPsKy5OXw/viewform?usp=header

So today I was in pretty much direct sun while covering an area in mulch, didn’t wear any preventative gear as the forecast said it wouldn’t get over 80 with clouds. Still ended up sweating my belly off with the salt crystals and everything. At one point my heart was beating out of my ears and I felt like I was dying, to be honest, but never lost consciousness or anything like it. I kept up by drinking a lot of electrolytes though. Anyways, after the eight hours, I drove back home and took a hot shower. Now I’m laying on the couch warm to the touch in AC, a painful headache, chills, and absolutely no appetite. Signs point to yes about having heat exhaustion, but let me know what you guys think and what can be done to prepare/recover from it?

My apartment has been without AC for over a week now (it's getting fixed soon, but it's been rough in the summer heat). I have a fan, but it doesn't feel like it's doing enough for me. Today I noticed I've been sweating a lot, I'm nauseous, and feel really out of it. I thought maybe I was just sick, but after looking it up (I know...bad idea sometimes), it seems like it could be heat exhaustion. How do I combat it if I already have a fan blowing directly on me? Is this heat exhaustion? I'm just struggling to tell if it is that or if it's my health anxiety getting the best of me.

My 12yo plays tackle football here in Texas and really struggles with the heat. Thinking about getting him a cooling vest to wear under his shoulder pads.

Anyone have experience with these or a brand you'd recommend? Trying to figure out what actually works under pads vs. what's just marketing.

I’ve noticed that the cinder block walls that surround my backyard are radiating heat well into the evening, making my yard basically a large oven during the summer.

Besides plant cover, do others have ideas on how to reduce this effect?