Raise your hand who, after a hellish day with 35 degrees in the shade, has never dreamed of diving under a jet of icy water: the shirt stuck to the back, the hair that seems to have come out of a sauna, and that irrepressible desire to turn into a human ice.
Well, forget everything and get ready for a cold shower on the … cold shower: what seems the perfect solution to fight the summer canic is actually a thermal boomerang that will make you sweat double.
The great deception of the icy jet
When cold water affects the skin, the body goes into panic mode. “Red alarm!”, The brain neurons shout, “we are losing warmth!”. And thus the vasoconstriction starts: the blood vessels narrow as if we had been catapulted to the north pole. The problem? We are still in the height of summer, with the asphalt that could cook an egg. Therefore, that perfect defense mechanism, which in winter protects us from the real cold, becomes a sensational own goal when the external temperature exceeds that of the human body.
The blood vessels, restricted, prevent internal heat from going out and we will find ourselves taking on the appearance of a pressure cooker. The result? After five minutes of glacial bliss, here we are again dripping as street fountains.
The revenge of sweat
The brain is confused by the sudden cold signal, therefore even activates the metabolism to produce more heat. It is as if our internal thermostat went crazy: while the thermometer marks Saharan temperatures outside, the body thinks of having to turn on the heating. A real biological mockery that will leave us more skilled than before.
The feeling of initial freshness is pure illusion. It lasts as much as an ice cream in the August sun. As soon as we close the tap and go out of the shower box, the body temperature splashes upwards like the actions of a company that produces, and while we dry we will curse that brilliant idea of making a cold shower.
The art of the warm shower
The true summer wisdom lies in warm water, that temperature that does neither shout nor shiver. The lightly hot water dilates the blood vessels, allowing the heat to naturally get out of the body. It is like opening the windows of a overheated house: the air circulates, the temperature is balanced, and you finally feel human.
Another grandmother’s advice? Dipping wrists and ankles in a basin of fresh water, the strategic points of the body, authentic blood highways: by cooling them gently, the general temperature is lowered without sending the thermoregulation system by tilt.
Survive the summer hell: the practical manual
Let’s see what are the best strategies to adopt during the hottest days, a small vademecum to counter the summer heat effectively.
The next time the thermometer should risk explosion and direct the natural instinct towards glacial water, remember: your body is not stupid, but sometimes it is confused. Treat him kindly, give him warm water, and he will repay you with a real and lasting freshness, because sweating like marathon runners after an icy shower is a defeat that we just don’t deserve.
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