How to Stay COOL During By Angela Terry, Founder of One Home About the author: Angela Terry is an environmental scientist and mum of three. She’s the founder of One Home, the UK‘s first consumer climate action hub – providing independent, practical advice on the changes you can make to help fight global warming and adapt to climate change.
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he world is heating up. The past seven years have been the seven warmest on record, according to the World Meteorological Organisation. In fact, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) says our planet’s surface temperatures are higher than they’ve been for 125,000 years. Climate change means heatwaves are becoming more common, even here in the UK. When they hit, everyone’s desperate for ways to keep cool. For women going through menopause, the situation’s even more pressing. Hot flushes are no joke at the best of times, never mind when temperatures are soaring. Of course, it doesn’t make sense to max out your carbon footprint in your attempt to cool down by buying air conditioning units. That’s only going to make the whole global warming situation worse.
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MENOPAUSE LIFE SUMMER 2022
It’s all about finding ecofriendly ways of staying chill in a warming world. Here are my tips:
• Take it easy
Exercise is pivotal to health and wellbeing, especially during menopause. However, during a heatwave, your body is already working overtime. Even the fittest yoga queen or gym bunny needs to tone down their regime.
Be shady •If you’re lucky enough to
have some outside space, then sitting in the shade is a no brainer. If you haven’t a suitable tree, then invest in a parasol – although planting a tree to provide shade for future generations is a fantastic idea too. Please remember that being in the shade won’t protect you from heat exhaustion. Keep sipping water and always wear a high protection sunscreen.
• Hydrate
During a heatwave, we need to drink more water than usual to maintain our body temperature and replace the fluids lost by sweating. Experts suggest upping your water consumption to at least 2.5 litres of water every day – the cooler the better! Make sure to have a good supply of ice in the freezer. You could also make healthy ice lollies using fresh fruit purees.
• Use water
We sweat because it helps our bodies dissipate heat. Regular plain water applied to the skin works in the same way.
