Good Educ-Health Ideas

Good Educ-Health Ideas This page is about health and wellness education

The Lost Practice of Resting One Day Each Weekby JOSHUA BECKERAsk any physician and they will tell you rest is essential...
07/11/2020

The Lost Practice of Resting One Day Each Week
by JOSHUA BECKER

Ask any physician and they will tell you rest is essential for physical health. When the body is deprived of sleep, it is unable to rebuild and recharge itself adequately. Your body requires rest.

Ask any athlete and they will tell you rest is essential for physical training. Rest is needed for muscles to repair themselves and prevent injury. This is true whether you run marathons, pitch baseballs, or climb rocks. Your muscles require rest.

Ask many of yesterday’s philosophers and they will tell you rest is essential for the mind. Leonardo da Vinci said, “Every now and then go away, have a little relaxation, for when you come back to your work your judgment will be surer.” And Ovid, the Roman poet, said, “Take rest; a field that has rested gives a bountiful crop.” Your mind requires rest.

Ask most religious leaders and they will tell you rest is essential for the soul. Buddhism, Judaism, Christianity, Islam, Baha’i, and Wiccan (among others) teach the importance of setting aside a period of time for rest. Your soul requires rest.

Ask many corporate leaders and they will tell you that rest is essential for productivity. Forbes magazine recently wrote, “You can only work so hard and do so much in a day. Everybody needs to rest and recharge.” Your productivity requires rest.

Physicians, athletes, philosophers, poets, religious leaders, and corporate leaders all tell us the same thing: take time to rest. It is absolutely essential for a balanced, healthy life.

Yet, when you ask people in today’s frenzied culture if they intentionally set aside time for rest, most will tell you they are too busy. Even fewer would say they set aside any concentrated time (12-24 hours) for rest. There are just too many things to get done, too many demands, too many responsibilities, too many bills, and too much urgency. Nobody can afford to waste time resting in today’s results-oriented world.

Unfortunately, this hectic pace is causing damage to our quality of life. We are destroying every sense of our being (body, mind, and soul). There is a reason we run faster and work harder, but only fall further behind. Our lives have become too full and too out of balance. Somewhere along the way, we lost the essential practice of concentrated rest.

But we would be wise to reclaim the practice of resting one day each week. Consider the benefits of concentrated rest for your body, mind, and soul:

Healthier body. We each get one life and one body to live it in. Therefore, we eat healthy, we exercise, and we watch our bad habits. But then we allow our schedules to fill up from morning to evening. Rest is as essential to our physical health as the water we drink and the air we breathe.

Less stress. Stress is the perception that the situations we are facing are greater than the resources we have to deal with them—resources such as time, energy, ability, and help from others. Concentrated rest confronts stress in two ways. First, it reduces the demands of the situation. We have no demands on us as long as we have the ability to mentally let go of unfinished tasks. Secondly, rest reduces stress by increasing our resources, particularly energy.

Deeper relationships. A day set aside each week for rest allows relationships with people to deepen and be strengthened. When we aren’t rushing off to work or soccer practice, we are able to enjoy each other’s company and a healthy conversation. And long talks prove to be far more effective in building community than short ones on the ride to the mall.

Opportunity for reflection. Sometimes it is hard to see the forest through the trees. It is even more difficult to see the forest when we are running through the trees. Concentrated rest allows us to take a step back, to evaluate our lives, to identify our values, and determine if our life is being lived for them.

Balance. Taking one day of your week and dedicating it to rest will force you to have an identity outside of your occupation. It will foster relationships outside of your fellow employees. It will foster activities and hobbies outside work. It will give life and identity outside of your Monday-Friday occupation. Rather than defining your life by what you do, you can begin to define it by who you are.

Increased production. Just like resting physical muscles allows them opportunity to rejuvenate which leads to greater physical success, providing our minds with rest provides it opportunity to refocus and rejuvenate. More work is not better work. Smarter work is better work.

Reserve for life’s emergencies. Crisis hits everyone. Nobody who is alive is immune from the trials of life. By starting the discipline today of concentrated rest, you will build up reserves for when the unexpected emergencies of life strike and rest is no longer an option.

Properly developing a discipline of concentrated rest requires both inward and outward changes. Consider these steps to reclaiming the lost practice of weekly rest in your life.

1. Find contentment in your current life. Much of the reason we are unable to find adequate rest is because we are under the constant impression that our lives can and should be better than they are today. This constant drive to improve our standing through the acquisition of money, power, or skills robs us of contentment and joy. Ultimately, rest is an extension of our contentment and security. Without them, simplicity and rest is difficult, if not impossible. Stop focusing on what you don’t have and start enjoying the things you do. (tweet that)

2. Plan your rest. Rest will come only from intentional planning and planning rest will come only if it is truly desired. Put it on your calendar. Learn to say no to any tasks that attempt to take precedent. Plan out your day of rest by choosing creative activities that are refreshing and encourage relationships. Understand that true rest is different than just not working. As the Cat in the Hat wisely said, “It is fun to have fun but you have to know how.” Avoid housework. Plan meals in advance to help alleviate cooking responsibilities. And by all means, turn off your television and email.

3. Take responsibility for your life. You are not a victim of your time demands. You are the creator and acceptor of them. Refuse to complain or make excuses. Change your habits instead. Remember, you are only as busy as you choose to be. Leave “if only” excuses to the kids. If needed, alert your employer about your desire for rest and tell them you will be unavailable on that particular day.

4. Embrace simplicity. Embrace a lifestyle that focuses on your values, not your possessions. It is difficult to find rest when the housework is never finished, the yard needs to be mowed, or the garage needs to be organized.

5. Include your family. It is much easier to practice the discipline of concentrated rest if your family is practicing it too. The fact that this gets more difficult as your kids get older should motivate you to start as soon as possible.

6. Live within your income. A debtor is a slave to his creditor. It is difficult to find rest for your mind when you are deep in debt. The constant distress of your responsibility to another may preclude you from truly enjoying a day off. It is possible; it’s just more difficult. Don’t overspend your income, live within it.

7. Realize the shallow nature of a results-oriented culture. If you live in a results-oriented culture where productivity alone is championed, rest is countercultural. And thus, the saying goes, “If you rest, you rust.” Rest may even be seen as a sign of weakness by others. Unfortunately, that view of humanity’s role in this world is shallow. It is true that many of the benefits from concentrated rest are not tangible; but then again, only a fool believes all good things can be counted.

Rabbi Elijah of Vilna once said, “What we create becomes meaningful to us only once we stop creating it and start to think about why we did so.” The implication is clear. We could live lives that produce countless widgets, but we won’t start truly living until we stop producing and start enjoying.

Capture the lost practice of taking rest and start living again.

THE IMPORTANCE OF VACATIONTaking a break from everyday life is so vitally important for your health and mental well-bein...
07/11/2020

THE IMPORTANCE OF VACATION

Taking a break from everyday life is so vitally important for your health and mental well-being. Find out more about the benefits of vacation.
Now that the summer season is upon us, many of you are thinking of vacation. Although every year we look forward to our break from everyday life and our jobs, how many of you actually come back feeling rejuvenated, relaxed and ready to delve back into the grind?

I recently came back from a wonderful trip, seeing parts of the world I had never seen before. For that I’m immensely grateful. However, upon my return I realized that I had not completely disconnected from my life back home. Every day I connected to my emails and in fact, kept working whenever I could spare the moment. If I’m not feeling completely refreshed, it’s really of my own doing but it got me to wonder how many of you feel the same way? Do you completely disconnect from your emails and leave work issues back at work? Do you forget about the run-ins with the in-laws or the list of to-do’s that still await you? How many of you are really able to decompress and just ‘be’ in the moment with your loved ones?

BENEFITS OF VACATION
Some believe that vacation is as important as sleeping. When you are in a constant state of fight or flight, your body is continuously stressed. “Chronic stress takes its toll in part on our body's ability to resist infection, maintain vital functions, and even ability to avoid injury. When you're stressed out and tired, you are more likely to become ill, your arteries take a beating, and you're more likely to have an accident. Your sleep will suffer, you won't digest your food as well, and even the genetic material in the cells of your body may start to become altered in a bad way. Mentally, not only do you become more irritable, depressed, and anxious, but your memory will become worse and you'll make poorer decisions. You'll also be less fun to be with, causing you to become more isolated, lonely, and depressed.” So there you have it. Taking time away is vitally important to your overall wellness. Just as sleep helps you heal, a vacation can help you do that too.

Vacations make people happier.

Employers find that workers are far more productive after they’ve had a holiday. Often they are able to provide new and refreshing perspectives on projects and are able to tackle them with far more gusto than they did prior to being away. Some employers provide outstanding vacation benefits to their employees and I have a lot of respect for them as they understand the importance of taking a break. Other employers (and you know who you are) only offer the absolute minimum (i.e., one week after one year of employment and two weeks after that, if you’re lucky). Perhaps they need to read this article about the importance of vacation!

How many vacation days have you accumulated? Take them! Remember to limit your use of technology and just be with your families. Enjoy!

How Much Water Should I Drink Daily?About 60% of your body weight is made of water. You need it for every single body fu...
07/09/2020

How Much Water Should I Drink Daily?

About 60% of your body weight is made of water. You need it for every single body function. It flushes toxins from your organs, carries nutrients to your cells, cushions your joints, and helps you digest the food you eat.

If you don’t get enough water, you can become dehydrated. Severe cases of dehydration can cause dizziness, confusion, and even seizures.

That’s why it’s important to get the water as your body needs every day. No set amount is right for everyone. How much you need can depend on your size, how much exercise you do, how hot the weather is, and other things. Your doctor can help you determine what’s right for you.

How Much Water Does Your Body Need Each Day?
We’ve all heard that 8 glasses of water each day is best. But the truth is, how much water you need varies. But there are some basic guidelines:
For men, the Institute of Medicine (IOM) recommends a total of 13 cups (about 3 liters) of fluid each day. For women, they suggest 9 cups (a little over 2 liters) of fluid each day. Pregnant women should drink about 10 cups of water daily. Those who breastfeed need about 12 cups.

If you’re outside on a hot day, or doing something that makes you sweat a lot, you’ll need to drink more fluids to stay hydrated. The same is true if you have an illness that causes you to throw up, have diarrhea, or run a fever.

If you have a condition like heart failure or a particular type of kidney disease, you may need to limit your fluid intake. Talk to your doctor about what’s right for you.

How Much Water Should Kids Be Drinking?
Like adults, how much water children need depends on many things, like their age, how much they weigh, and their gender. Other things that play a role include how healthy and active they are, and what the climate is like where they live.

In general, children and teens need about 6 to 8 cups of water a day. They should also eat lots of fresh fruits and veggies, which are full of water.

During play or exercise, a good goal is to drink a half cup to 2 cups of water every 15 to 20 minutes.

6 Spices That'll Keep You Cool on a Hot DayAs summer heats up, most of us can't help but cling to a chilled drink. I kno...
07/08/2020

6 Spices That'll Keep You Cool on a Hot Day

As summer heats up, most of us can't help but cling to a chilled drink. I know that feeling but wait, don't reach out for it just yet. The truth is that frosty foods cool you down but their effect is not everlasting and could be rather villainous. Scientifically, after the initial icy shock once the digestive process kicks in these foods generate more heat in the body. Your internal temperature falls so suddenly that to compensate for it your body temperature rises over time. You end up feeling the you way were - baked and bothered.

It's hot outside and inside too. The superheroes of health are some spices that beat the heat, internally. They can give any meal a credible kick and work as coolants by regulating your metabolism. According to Ayurvedic practise, our body is governed by three doshas or energies which are vatta, pitta and kapha. 'Pitta' rules metabolism and digestion. Heat intensifies the pitta dosha which can lead to inflammation, heart burns, acne and sweating. Certain spices bring about a balance between these energies with their cooling nature. Have a look at the ones that promise to keep you cool this summer.

Mint: Few herbs are as diverse as the mint. It is packed with menthol which acts as a remedy for indigestion and chest pains. It disperses the excess energy released due to the digestive process by opening up and activating the pores in the skin and thus pacifies the aggravated pitta. Saunf Fennel: Popular as a mouth freshener, saunf is an excellent source of Vitamin C. It is known to calm the inflammation caused in the body due to the heat. It peps up the flow of digestive and gastric juices in body.

Quick tip: Soak the fennel seeds in water overnight. Strain the water and drink up with a pinch of sugar, black salt, lemon and all that you fancy. This makes for an instant summer energizer.

Turmeric: A spotlight for this Ayurvedic favourite and wonder spice. Spices with a bitter character are known for their cooling mojo. It reduces pain and swelling in the body. It cleanses the liver juices and purifies the blood. Turmeric also contains curcumin, a chemical that promotes healthy heart functions.

Green Cardamom: It is known as the 'tridoshic' as it balances all the three energies or doshas in our body. It counteracts the excessive stomach acids. Ground cardamom seeds help to cure stomach cramps.

Coriander (Cilantro): It tones down the excess of fire or pitta in our body caused due to the heat. Its high volatile oil content makes it a great relaxant and helps relieve anxiety. The powder, the seeds and the fresh leaves are packed with a vibrant nutritional punch. They improve appetite and aid digestion.

Why breakfast is so importantBreakfast is often called ‘the most important meal of the day’, and for good reason. As the...
07/08/2020

Why breakfast is so important

Breakfast is often called ‘the most important meal of the day’, and for good reason. As the name suggests, breakfast breaks the overnight fasting period. It replenishes your supply of glucose to boost your energy levels and alertness, while also providing other essential nutrients required for good health.

Many studies have shown the health benefits of eating breakfast. It improves your energy levels and ability to concentrate in the short term, and can help with better weight management, reduced risk of type 2 diabetes and heart disease in the long term.

Despite the benefits of breakfast for your health and wellbeing, many people often skip it, for a variety of reasons. The good news is there are plenty of ways to make it easier to fit breakfast into your day.

Energy
The body’s energy source is glucose. Glucose is broken down and absorbed from the carbohydrates you eat. The body stores most of its energy as fat. But your body also stores some glucose as glycogen, most of it in your liver, with smaller amounts in your muscles.

During times of fasting (not eating), such as overnight, the liver breaks down glycogen and releases it into your bloodstream as glucose to keep your blood sugar levels stable. This is especially important for your brain, which relies almost entirely on glucose for energy.

In the morning, after you have gone without food for as long as 12 hours, your glycogen stores are low. Once all of the energy from your glycogen stores is used up, your body starts to break down fatty acids to produce the energy it needs. But without carbohydrate, fatty acids are only partially oxidised, which can reduce your energy levels.

Eating breakfast boosts your energy levels and restores your glycogen levels ready to keep your metabolism up for the day.

Skipping breakfast may seem like a good way to reduce overall energy intake. But research shows that even with a higher intake of energy, breakfast eaters tend to be more physically active in the morning than those who don’t eat until later in the day.

Essential vitamins, minerals and nutrients
Breakfast foods are rich in key nutrients such as folate, calcium, iron, B vitamins and fibre. Breakfast provides a lot of your day’s total nutrient intake. In fact, people who eat breakfast are more likely to meet their recommended daily intakes of vitamins and minerals than people who don’t.

Essential vitamins, minerals and other nutrients can only be gained from food, so even though your body can usually find enough energy to make it to the next meal, you still need to top up your vitamin and mineral levels to maintain health and vitality.

Breakfast boosts brain power
If you don’t have breakfast, you might find you feel a bit sluggish and struggle to focus on things. This is because your brain hasn’t received the energy (glucose) it needs to get going. Studies suggest that not having breakfast affects your mental performance, including your attention, ability to concentrate and memory. This can make some tasks feel harder than they normally would.

Children and adolescents who regularly eat breakfast also tend to perform better academically compared with those who skip breakfast. They also feel a greater level of connectedness with teachers and other adults at their school, which leads to further positive health and academic outcomes.

A healthy breakfast may reduce the risk of illness
Compared with people who don’t have breakfast, those who regularly eat breakfast tend to have a lower risk of both obesity and type 2 diabetes. There is also some evidence that people who don’t have breakfast may be at a higher risk of cardiovascular disease.

Breakfast helps you make better food choices
People who eat breakfast generally have more healthy diets overall, have better eating habits and are less likely to be hungry for snacks during the day than people who skip breakfast. Children who eat an inadequate breakfast are more likely to make poor food choices not only for the rest of the day, but also over the longer term.

Those who skip breakfast tend to nibble on snacks during the mid-morning or afternoon. This can be a problem if those snacks are low in fibre, vitamins and minerals, but high in fat and salt. Without the extra energy that breakfast can offer, some people feel lethargic and turn to high-energy food and drinks to get them through the day.

If you do skip breakfast, try a nutritious snack such as fresh fruit, yoghurt, veggie sticks and hummus, or a wholemeal sandwich to help you through that mid-morning hunger.

How To Make Thai Iced TeaBy: KELLI FOSTERHere’s the drink I’ll be sipping on all summer long: Thai iced tea! I used to r...
07/07/2020

How To Make Thai Iced Tea
By: KELLI FOSTER

Here’s the drink I’ll be sipping on all summer long: Thai iced tea! I used to reserve this refreshing drink for combatting the heat when I ordered spicy curries at Thai restaurants, but not anymore. I recently discovered that making your own Thai iced tea is surprisingly easy.

How is Thai iced tea different than regular iced tea?
Thai iced tea is a real treat. While regular iced tea can be somewhat mild, and served with the option of sweetened or unsweetened, Thai iced tea is more concentrated and flavorful. This special drink is infused with star anise and cloves, which add a warm, spiced aroma. It’s sweetened with a touch of sugar, then topped off with a spoonful of sweetened condensed milk.

INGREDIENTS
5 cups water
6 bags black tea or red Thai tea, or 1 1/2 tablespoons loose tea
2 star anise
3 whole cloves
2 tablespoons sugar
Ice
1/4 cup sweetened condensed milk

EQUIPMENT
Medium saucepan
Measuring spoons
Tall glasses

INSTRUCTIONS
1. Boil the water: Bring the water to a boil in a medium saucepan.
2. Steep the tea: Remove the pan from the heat. Place the tea bags, star anise, and cloves in the water, and make sure they are completely submerged. Steep for 10 minutes.
3. Remove the tea bags: Use a large spoon or a strainer to remove the tea bags, star anise, and cloves.
4. Stir in the sugar: Add the sugar and stir until it's completely dissolved.
5. Cool the tea: Let the tea cool to room temperature.
6. To serve: Use tall glasses and fill each with ice cubes. Fill each glass 3/4 of the way full with tea. Add one tablespoon of sweetened condensed milk to each glass, and stir to combine. Drink immediately.

5 Tips to Stay Healthy in SummerAs the spring ends, we are ready to welcome the hotter months of the year and the harsh ...
07/07/2020

5 Tips to Stay Healthy in Summer
As the spring ends, we are ready to welcome the hotter months of the year and the harsh effects of summer are well known to everyone. As the temperature starts to soar, more and more people experience discomforting conditions. Heat strokes, sunburn, and dehydration are some of the side effects of the scorching heat that summer has brings along. To stay healthy in summer it is important that you take enough precautions. In this blog, we will talk about the top 5 tips that will help you stay healthy this summer and protected from the blazing sun.

Drink lots of liquid

First and foremost, it is very important for you to stay hydrated this summer. Sweat is a very common outcome of any physical activity that you perform during hot days. To ensure that there is no loss of water from the body, it is important that you drink plenty of water and other liquids. Health expert’s advice drinking 8 glasses of water per day to stay fully hydrated. A hydrated body is more energetic and has a better ability to avoid exhaustion.

You must also avoid drinking unfiltered water as many of the summer diseases including diarrhea, typhoid, cholera, hepatitis A or E are water-borne diseases. In case you feel tired or have unusual bowel movements, you might be suffering from one of these diseases. It is recommended to visit a medical professional and get examined ASAP.

Take care of your diet

It is very important to eat healthy in summer. Thanks to the seasonal fruits and vegetables you get enough nutrients to serve to the body requirements and maintain health during the tougher months. Include salads, juices, yogurt, seasonal fruits and sprouts in your diet to get the required amount of nutrients and minerals.

Stay away from spicy food

We Indians love to eat spices. While hot and spicy food serves as a refuge in the winter months, it can wreak havoc on your stomach during the summer season. To deal with hot temperature the body gets heated up internally as well. The internal heat creates acidity which is often aggravated by spicy foods. Thus, it is advisable to eat less oily and spicy food to avoid gastrological problems.

Take proper rest

Summer days are long and tiring. As your routine may differ during summer, it is important that you take proper rest to avoid exhaustion. Having 7 to 9 hours of sleep is recommended by health experts. You must also eat light food in dinner to promote digestion and avoid any type of disturbance during sleep.

Protection from the sun

The sun can be harsh in summer, thus posing a plethora of dermatological consequences. To maintain healthy skin and avoid sunburns you must wear sunscreen whenever you step out of the house. Use medically recommended and high SPF sunscreen to maintain healthy skin. You can opt for SPF 30, SPF 40, SPF 50, SPF UVA/UVB sunscreen as per your skin type. Do not forget to consult a doctor in case you suffer from inflammation, irritation or any kind of skin discomfort that you suffer from sun exposure.

Being physically and mentally healthy is instrumental to our overall well-being. Medical professionals also advise doing light exercises and meditation for a healthy body and a calmer mind. Follow these steps to make sure you’re safe and healthy throughout the scorching summer months.

A True Summer Superfruit: Watermelon and its Health BenefitsBy: Emily CardiffWhat is delicious and super juicy, can be r...
07/04/2020

A True Summer Superfruit: Watermelon and its Health Benefits
By: Emily Cardiff

What is delicious and super juicy, can be red, pink, or dark pink on the inside, and seeded or seedless? Here are some more hints: although it is available year-round, its peak production season in the United States is summer, and it is fun to eat in slices or wedges. Answer – it’s the popular summertime fruit, the watermelon!

The watermelon is a ground-vine flowering plant from the gourd family that produces a fleshy fruit inside and has a thick outer rind. It is believed that watermelons first originated several thousand years ago in Africa in the Kalahari Desert, and over time made its way all over the world from Africa to places like Europe, Asia, and North America to be cultivated. However, it was not until the Europeans began to colonize North America that the watermelon was introduced to the United States. It was also a source of water for thirsty traders, then became a source of funds when these traders began to sell watermelon seeds in many cities along the ancient Mediterranean trade routes. Watermelons were used in a different way during the Civil War when the Confederate Army boiled them down to create a source of sugar and molasses.

There are over 1,000 varieties of watermelon grown worldwide, but only 200-300 varieties are grown in the United States and Mexico and about 50 varieties of that number are most popular. The Seedless, Seeded, and Mini (or Personal) watermelon are the most popular in the U.S.

A single watermelon is made up of 92% water and the rest of the fruit is packed with healthful nutrients – vitamins and minerals. They are a good source of antioxidants like vitamin A, vitamin C, vitamin B6, and potassium, magnesium, and dietary fiber. Did you know that consuming plain roasted watermelon seeds adds more essential minerals to help maintain a healthy body and prevent disease? Eating watermelon seeds provides you with magnesium for an even greater energy boost, comes packed with iron to promote a healthy immune system, and copper for skin and hair protection. To get the most nutritional value from fruits and vegetables, and to keep your body healthy and strong, it is very important that you eat a variety of colorful foods. For a healthy immune system, be sure to include deep red or bright pink color fruits and vegetables in your meals and snacks every day.

When it comes to the red color in plant foods, they contain disease fighting and health promoting substances called phytochemicals, such as anthocyanins and lycopene. Among fresh fruits and vegetables, watermelon varieties that are a deep red in color are lycopene leaders, and the red pigment is an important antioxidant that has been discovered to be helpful in reducing the risk of cancers such as prostate, breast, colon, and lung. Other health benefits include an immune system boost to protect against infections and viruses, good for eye health, and has been certified by the American Heart Association as a heart healthy food. Watermelon is a very good source of potassium that helps with muscle cramps, and muscle and nerve function. It can act as an anti-inflammatory agent to ease the symptoms of health ailments like asthma, arthritis, atherosclerosis, and diabetes.

How to Stay Safe in Blazing HeatHeat stroke and heat exhaustion happen when the body cannot properly cool itself, potent...
07/04/2020

How to Stay Safe in Blazing Heat

Heat stroke and heat exhaustion happen when the body cannot properly cool itself, potentially damaging the brain and other organs. Oppressive heat can also lead to heat cramps, heat rash and, of course, sunburn.

Here’s what to know about staying safe when the mercury is way up.

Avoid the heat if you can. If you have to be outside, stay out of the sun as much as possible. Take frequent breaks in air-conditioned areas whenever you get the chance.
Drink a lot of water, and skip soda and alcohol, which have dehydrating effects. Drink water regularly, before you feel thirsty. Sports drinks with electrolytes are a good option, too, but drink them in moderation because of their sugar content.
Dress properly. It sounds like a no-brainer, but light-colored, loose-fitting clothing can make a big difference in your ability to cool down.
Be aware of the people in your life who might need extra care. The very young (babies and toddlers) and the elderly are at heightened risk for heat-related illness, as are people with chronic conditions such as heart disease and obesity. Some medications, including beta blockers and drugs for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, make it difficult to regulate body temperature. If you know someone living without air conditioning, consider checking on them or even inviting them to stay with you during the heat wave.
Don’t leave any living being—child or pet—in your car, even for a minute. Every year many children and pets die in cars, where the interior heat can reach very high temperatures very quickly, even when it’s not that hot outside.
Wear sunscreen. Apply broad-spectrum sunscreen with at least SPF 15 before going outside. And make sure you’re applying it correctly.
It’s also important to be aware of the symptoms of heat-related illness. For heat stroke, you may experience a body temperature of 103 degrees or higher, a fast pulse, dizziness, nausea or confusion. The skin may be hot, red, dry or damp. Heat stroke is a medical emergency; call 911 right away. While waiting for assistance, help the person get as cool as possible as quickly as possible. Ice baths are best, but if unavailable, ice packs in the groin, neck and armpits can help. If no ice is available, get to the coolest place possible, remove unnecessary clothing and put the person in front of a fan.

Heat exhaustion is characterized by feeling weak, lightheaded or fatigued, sometimes with headaches or nausea. The skin may be cold, pale and clammy. Move to a cool place, take a cool bath and sip water. If symptoms do not improve, get medical help.

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