Britain is once again faced with the threat of hot weather. The scorching heat that hit Europe is expected to return again this week. British experts made interesting cooling suggestions against the heat wave that will hit this week. In England, where temperatures rise to 33 degrees, people are looking for ways to cool off.
In the UK, Google searches for “how to stay cool in a heat wave” recommend a series of weird measures, such as drinking hot tea, eating spicy food and even licking your wrists. So how accurate are these?
FOR HOT TEA
Although it may seem like cold drinks will help you cool down in hot weather, studies have revealed that hot drinks such as tea and coffee can also help cool you down.
EAT SPICY FOODS
This week, instead of eating ice cream, you can choose spicy curry. The “burn” you feel in your mouth from eating spicy foods is caused by capsaicin, a chemical found in cayenne pepper. This is usually followed by a similar warming sensation in the rest of the body, which causes you to sweat.
Writing in Scientific American, Yale Professor Barry Green explained: “Spicy foods stimulate receptors in the skin that normally respond to heat. The central nervous system responds if the sensory system tells it what’s going on. So the pattern of activity from the pain and hot nerve fibers is vasodilation. triggers both sensations and physical reactions of heat, including sweating and flushing.” So it seems that there is no problem in eating spicy and spicy foods in hot weather!
LICK YOUR WRISTS
Various animals, including kangaroos and monkeys, lick their wrists to cool off. So, does this work for people?
As weird as it sounds, licking your wrists also helps keep people cool. There are pulse points on the wrists. Areas where you can feel your pulse because your blood vessels are close to the surface of your skin. By licking your wrists, you are using saliva to mimic the effects of sweat and cooling the skin’s surface. This slows blood flow, preventing your body from overheating.