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With summer in full swing, it’s the perfect time to go outdoors and enjoy hobbies you’ve been planning to do. But, with summer comes the occasional heat wave, and if you’re not careful, it may increase your risk of developing heat-related illnesses.

Moreover, hot weather can affect your behavior. Have you noticed you’re becoming grumpier whenever the weather’s scorching? That’s no coincidence. According to a recent New York Times article,¹ extreme heat can affect your brain, and make you “aggressive, impulsive and dumb,” which is why you need to take measures to cool down your body.

Research² backs this up, stating that if your body’s temperature is higher than normal for prolonged periods, it makes you more irritable and affects your decision-making skills, potentially putting your life in danger.

How Heat Changes Your Behavior

According to the featured article,³ researchers discovered a link between hot weather and aggressive behavior.⁴ After going through crime data, they found that the murders, assaults and domestic violence incidents were higher on hot days. “So-called reactive aggression tends to be especially sensitive to heat, likely because people tend to interpret others’ actions as more hostile on hot days, prompting them to respond in kind,” the article reports.⁵

But that’s not all — nonviolent but aggressive behavior is also more likely to happen during hot weather, such as drivers honking the horn while stuck in traffic. This phenomenon was tested in a study⁶ published by the National Bureau of Economic Research.

Researchers selected 1,918 students from two different universities, putting them in either a “hot” room and a “cool” room. Next, the students were asked to complete a series of specialized video games that elicit different behaviors.

After the experiments were completed, researchers noted that higher temperatures increased destructive behavior against other players in an economy-based game. They concluded that hot weather, on a wider scale, may cause a reduction in economic productivity and labor supply.⁷

What seems to cause aggressive behavior in the presence of hot weather? While there are no solid answers yet, there are two theories. According to Kim Meidenbauer, Ph.D., your brain is busy trying to cool down, leaving little energy for higher cognitive functions. “Your tendency to act without thinking, or not be able to stop yourself from acting a certain way, these things also appear to be affected by heat,” she explained.

The second one is believed to be a coping mechanism, according to Shaun Morrison Ph.D., a professor of neurological surgery at Oregon Health and Science University. He explains that if you can’t find shade or a way to cool down, surviving consumes your energy, making you distracted and irritable.⁸

Your Cognitive Function Goes Down Under Prolonged Heat Exposure

Sweating is your body’s way to cool you down, and is mainly composed of water and some salts. Once the sweat reaches your skin and evaporates, your body’s temperature lowers.⁹ But, once sweating can’t keep up with the heat, your wellness becomes compromised, specifically your cognitive function. And if your mind cannot function optimally, the risk of developing heat stroke increases since you’re not able to make decisions at your fullest capacity.

In a study¹⁰ published in PLOS Medicine, researchers sought to learn how heat affects humans in an academic setting. For the study, they followed 44 students from Massachusetts during a heat wave in 2016 — 24 of them had air-conditioning (AC) provided, while the remaining 20 didn’t. Next, they completed two cognition tests immediately after waking, every day for 12 days.

They discovered that students who had AC had better reaction times compared to those who didn’t have AC, and that providing comfortable accommodations for students can help maintain educational performance and subsequent economical productivity.

Another study supports these findings. In one example, published in Indoor Air,¹¹ 36 participants were exposed to three different temperatures (75.2 degrees F, 78.8 degrees F and 82.4 degrees F) for four and a half hours in a controlled environment. Afterward, they were observed in various areas such as comfort, mental load and intensity of symptoms experienced.

They were given cognitive tasks as well to measure mental performance under heat. Similar to the PLOS Medicine study, results revealed that elevated temperatures decreased cognitive performance, highlighting the effects of temperature can affect our ability to think.

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Heat Exhaustion Versus Heat Stroke — What’s the Difference?

A report¹² from Scientific American noted that heat exposure is the top weather-related cause of death in America, killing “more people most years than hurricanes, floods and tornadoes combined.” An estimated 1,220 Americans succumb to extreme heat-related conditions every year.¹³

Heat stroke and heat exhaustion are two conditions that may affect people during hot weather, but what do they actually mean? While it’s easy to think they’re the same, they’re different terminologies that fall under the spectrum of heat-related illnesses.

Heat exhaustion is the first complication on the spectrum, manifesting after prolonged exposure to hot environments. Your body temperature is higher than normal, but it’s still below 104 degrees Fahrenheit (40 degrees Celsius). According to the U.S. Military Health System, heat exhaustion accounts for most cases of heat-related illnesses.¹⁴

At the extreme end is heat stroke,¹⁵ which is what happens when heat exhaustion is left untreated. Specifically, heat stroke occurs when your body cannot produce enough sweat anymore to cool itself.¹⁶ As a result, your body’s internal temperature rises above 104 degrees F (40 degrees C).¹⁷

Left untreated, heat stroke can damage your vital organs, leading to kidney and liver failure, brain swelling, metabolic dysfunction and nerve damage. Therefore, it’s important that your body does not reach this temperature when spending time outdoors.¹⁸ The table below gives an overview of the symptoms associated with these conditions:^19,20

Four Strategies to Cool Down Your Body

If your job requires you to stay under the sun for extended periods, or if you have planned outdoor activities this summer, learning how to cool yourself or a loved down can be a lifesaver. Since extreme heat can affect cognitive function, it’s better to commit these strategies to heart before heading outdoors:^21,22

Stay Hydrated During the Summer to Cool Yourself Down

The summer heat can easily dehydrate you, so it’s important to drink adequate amounts of water for a well-functioning body and mind. It’ also the foundation of sweat, and if your body can’t produce it, your ability to cool down also falls by the wayside.

Since your body can’t store water, it needs to be replenished regularly by drinking enough of it.²⁵ If you don’t get enough of water, you’ll end up becoming dehydrated. The table below shows the most common symptoms of dehydration:

How much water is enough? The popular guideline ingrained into the public’s consciousness is drinking eight 8-ounce glasses (also known as the 8×8 guide) of water, and it’s often stated as a scientific fact.

However, hydration is not quite that simple, as many factors affect how much hydration you need for your current situation, such as your age, activity levels and climate. Instead of following the 8×8 guide, a far better strategy is following your thirst to guide your water intake.

Another useful strategy is to monitor the color of your urine and how frequently you’re urinating. If your urine is deep, dark yellow, you’re not drinking enough water. Ideally, a pale straw or light-yellow color indicates adequate water intake. Also, if you notice that you haven’t urinated in a few hours, that’s another sign to drink more water. On average, a properly hydrated adult urinates seven or eight times a day.

In addition to drinking water, consider bringing coconut water while you’re hiking outdoors. Not only will it hydrate you, it can also help replenish any lost electrolytes you’ve lost under the sweltering heat.

15 Foods That Can Help You Beat the Heat

Aside from drinking water, did you know you certain fruits and vegetables can also boost hydration? Moreover, these particular foods contain electrolytes that can help replenish minerals lost after sweating a lot. Florida-based dietitian Courtney Smith recommends adding these 15 foods to your diet, based on their water volume and minerals they contain:²⁶

Other Strategies to Protect Yourself From Heat-Related Illnesses

In addition to staying hydrated and cooling yourself down, Johns Hopkins Medicine provides additional tips that can help lower your risk of developing health-related illnesses this summer:²⁷

• Wear lightweight, loose-fitting clothing in light colors
• Avoid caffeinated beverages and alcohol as they can dehydrate your faster during hot days
• Slowly build up your tolerance to the heat by gradually increasing time spent outdoors
• Take breaks often when partaking in sports activities
• Try to schedule your outdoor activities at cooler times of the day