{"id":1240,"date":"2011-08-18T00:19:28","date_gmt":"2011-08-17T15:19:28","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.hyogoajet.net\/hyogotimes\/?p=1240"},"modified":"2011-08-22T10:14:41","modified_gmt":"2011-08-22T01:14:41","slug":"how-to-cool-off-in-summer-a-kansai-summer-survival-guide","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.hyogoajet.net\/hyogotimes\/2011\/08\/how-to-cool-off-in-summer-a-kansai-summer-survival-guide\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Cool Off in Summer: A Kansai Summer Survival Guide"},"content":{"rendered":"
This is an article published out of Nara by a JET trying to beat the very same heat that lies over all of Kansai. He’s given us permission to reprint his article in the hopes that his tips can help you too!<\/em><\/h6>\n


For some of you, the coming of winter brings gloomy thoughts and a total lack of motivation.\u00c2\u00a0 For others, it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s the hot and humid summers that do the trick.\u00c2\u00a0 Because Nara is surrounded by mountains, its summers are especially \u00e8\u2019\u00b8\u00e3\u0081\u2014\u00e6\u0161\u2018\u00e3\u0081\u201e (mushi atsui<\/em>, which means hot and humid), giving many the feeling that we are living inside of a giant rice-cooker.\u00c2\u00a0 Being from Winnipeg or Winterpeg<\/em>, a Canadian city known for its bitterly cold winters, the Kansai summer took its toll on my physical and mental health.\u00c2\u00a0 As an\u00c2\u00a0\u00e6\u00b1\u2014\u00e3\u0081\u2039\u00e3\u0081\u008d\u00e3\u0081\u00ae\u00e4\u00ba\u00ba\u00ef\u00bc\u02c6ase kaki no hito<\/em>, or sweaty person\u00ef\u00bc\u2030I was quite unhappy, spent most of the summer drenched from head to toe and ended up losing 8 kilograms in my first summer in Nara 2 years ago, despite drinking up to 5 liters of water every day.\u00c2\u00a0 At the Nara Orientation, I was even mocked for naively asking my CIR this question: “Is there some type of exercise I can do or some kind of food I can eat to better deal with this hot and humid weather?<\/em>“<\/p>\n

Actually, there are things you can eat \/ do!\u00c2\u00a0 Some of these may seem like no-brainers to you, but here are a few simple and inexpensive tricks that may help you to beat the heat:<\/p>\n

Dress (or undress) for the heat<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

-Take it off!\u00c2\u00a0 If you`re in a situation where you can go without clothes, do it!\u00c2\u00a0 There`s nothing wrong with walking around your apartment in your underwear\/naked.<\/p>\n

-Get natural. If you do have to wear something, wear natural fabrics such as cotton, silk and linen rather than polyester, rayon or other artificial fibers (except for performance fabrics)<\/p>\n

-Wear light colors.\u00c2\u00a0 Darker colors will absorb the sun`s rays and heat.<\/p>\n

-Women can wear flowing dresses or skirts.\u00c2\u00a0 Try to avoid nylons or pantyhose if possible.<\/p>\n

-Men should take advantage of the “eco business“ style in Japan (no suits or ties from June). \u00c2\u00a0Wearing a tie keeps the heat near the skin and prevents air-circulation.\u00c2\u00a0 Take it off!\u00c2\u00a0 But make sure to check with your school\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s rules first.<\/p>\n

Use water<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

-Drink a lot of water, even if you\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re not thirsty.\u00c2\u00a0 If you sweat a lot, make sure to replenish the salt and electrolytes you\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve lost.\u00c2\u00a0 Sport drinks like Gatorade, Pocari Sweat and Aquarius are good for this.<\/p>\n

-Avoid sugary or caffeinated drinks.\u00c2\u00a0 They do re-hydrate, but far less than water does.\u00c2\u00a0 Caffeine also increases the heart rate, which will make you warmer.<\/p>\n

-Avoid ice-cold beverages.\u00c2\u00a0 Cold liquids require more energy to be absorbed into your body.\u00c2\u00a0 Cool water will cool you down faster.<\/p>\n

-Alcohol will dehydrate your body.\u00c2\u00a0 If you do go out for drinks especially in the summer, make sure to drink plenty of water during and after partying.<\/p>\n

-Get wet.\u00c2\u00a0 During the day, splashing cool water (avoid ice-cold water) on your wrists, neck face, ears and feet.\u00c2\u00a0 Repeat every hour.\u00c2\u00a0 (I doubt you would take off your socks at work to splash your feet, though) \u00c2\u00a0Cool water on your pulse points will noticeably bring down your body temperature.\u00c2\u00a0 This is probably the trick that helped me out the most last summer.<\/p>\n

-Take a cool shower or bath before going to bed.\u00c2\u00a0 The effect will last up to one hour, and \u00c2\u00a0hopefully you`ll already be asleep by then.<\/p>\n

-Ice blankets and pillows apparently do wonders to help you sleep on hot nights.<\/p>\n

Eat smart<\/span><\/strong><\/strong><\/p>\n

-Try eating 4-5 smaller meals a day instead of 3 regular ones to keep you temperature down.<\/p>\n

-High-protein and high fat foods will increase your metabolic heat and make you feel lethargic, so take it easy on the meat and bring some veggies to the next BBQ too.<\/p>\n

-If you sweat a lot, you\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ll need to replenish your salt.\u00c2\u00a0 Energy drinks have salt in them and get absorbed quickly into the system.<\/p>\n

-Eat food that is cool and doesn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t require heat to be prepared (sandwiches, salads). Using\u00e3\u20ac\u20acyour oven or stove on a hot humid day can literally turn your apartment into a sauna.<\/p>\n

-Eat spicy food, which increases perspiration to cool the body.\u00c2\u00a0 Spicy food will also give you a pleasant endorphin rush which might make you forget about the heat.<\/p>\n

-Eat many fresh fruit and vegetables and somen (thin cold Japanese noodles) Eating those have given me lots more energy in the summer.<\/p>\n

Ventilation and more<\/span><\/strong><\/strong><\/p>\n

-Use your electric fan in your apartment instead of the AC.\u00c2\u00a0 Keep the fan blades clean from dust.\u00c2\u00a0 A dusty fan blowing in your face can cause sinus colds.\u00c2\u00a0 Also, being in the draft of a fan for too long can cause severe dehydration, so don`t blast the fan on full power towards your bed during the night.\u00c2\u00a0 The skin cools when water evaporates from it, so\u00c2\u00a0 once there is no more water or sweat on it to evaporate, it will begin to dry.\u00c2\u00a0 It`s okay to use the fan on you, just as long as you are wet.<\/p>\n

-During the day while at work, close your curtains and blinds to keep the sun rays and heat outside.\u00c2\u00a0 At night, open the windows.<\/p>\n

-When you\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re on the go, use your uchiwa hand fan.\u00c2\u00a0 I read that if you use it for too long, you will bring up your body temperature, I personally believe this is not true.<\/p>\n

-If you have a hatch to the loft or attic, leave it open at night to let the warm air out.<\/p>\n

-If it`s worth it, keep your windows open at night instead of using the AC or fan.<\/p>\n

-Keep your bedroom door open for air circulation (only if you`re not using the AC)<\/p>\n

-Sleeping on your side or in a spread-eagle position will keep your body cooler.<\/p>\n

Many of those tricks have worked for me and improved my life in Japan since last summer.\u00c2\u00a0 I still dread the upcoming summer heat, however, but much less than I did 4 summers ago.\u00c2\u00a0 If like me your Achilles` heel is the “mushi atsui“ Kansai summer, then try as many of those techniques as you can.\u00c2\u00a0 Stay breezy, keep it cool and enjoy the summer!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

This is an article published out of Nara by a JET trying to beat the very same heat that lies over all of Kansai. He’s given us permission to reprint his article in the hopes that his tips can help you too! For some of you, the coming of winter brings gloomy thoughts and a…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":51,"featured_media":1241,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_kad_post_transparent":"","_kad_post_title":"","_kad_post_layout":"","_kad_post_sidebar_id":"","_kad_post_content_style":"","_kad_post_vertical_padding":"","_kad_post_feature":"","_kad_post_feature_position":"","_kad_post_header":false,"_kad_post_footer":false},"categories":[198,107],"tags":[199,201,200],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"http:\/\/www.hyogoajet.net\/hyogotimes\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/08\/direct-sun.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.hyogoajet.net\/hyogotimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1240"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.hyogoajet.net\/hyogotimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.hyogoajet.net\/hyogotimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.hyogoajet.net\/hyogotimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/51"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.hyogoajet.net\/hyogotimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1240"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"http:\/\/www.hyogoajet.net\/hyogotimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1240\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.hyogoajet.net\/hyogotimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1241"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.hyogoajet.net\/hyogotimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1240"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.hyogoajet.net\/hyogotimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1240"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.hyogoajet.net\/hyogotimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1240"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}