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Friday, April 15, 2016

Things you can do to beat the heat this summer

It's that time of the year when you take shelter in air-conditioned rooms, look for seating right under ceiling fans and love wearing those comfy cottons. If you are an office-goer, every day may feel like a Monday , making it tougher for you to travel to work and stay motivated through the day . 

TThe enthusiasm level often dips so low as to make you wonder how a change of just a few degrees in temperature can make such a big difference and affect your productivity . But if you have started feeling like this, you are scarcely alone. 

"The temperature has a very important role to play ," said Dr S Manohar, who heads the department of internal medicine at Sakra World Hospital in Bengaluru. 

Metabolism is lower in winter than in the summer months, Manohar said. "The human body tends to lose more water and electrolytes during summer due to excessive sweating.These factors have a significant impact on both the physical and mental well-being of the employees," he said. 

Dr Harish KV , consultant in general medicine at Apollo Clinic in Bengaluru, said, "Summer can affect the performance of the brain, including functions of work performance, memory , concentration and learning as one feels tired and worked up." 

He said that increased sweating leads to the loss of essential salts and vitamins due to perspiration that may result in fatigue in some cases. It also increases the acidity of urine, resulting in urinary infection. Body pH is altered during summer and there is a slowing down of blood in summer due to dehydration, which causes fatigue. 

Your productivity is influenced by everything from humidity to temp e r at u re t o a i r ve n t i l at i o n ."Environmental temperature fluctuations, especially sudden and extreme changes such as a heat wave, can cause tiredness," said Dr L Sreenivasa Murthy , medical director at Nightingales Home Health Services in Bengaluru. 
"If you are used to a mild temperate climate, where temperature fluctuations are relatively small, you may feel tired if you travel and need to adjust to a hotter climate. As the body adapts to higher temperatures, symptoms of fatigue will ease," he said. However, dehydration is a common cause of tiredness during hot weather. Dehydration occurs when body weight decreases 1% or more because of fluid loss. Other symptoms of dehydration include headache and strong-smelling dark yellow urine, Murthy said. 

Diseases to put a check on 

The soaring mercury level also heralds a spate of infections and risks of food and waterborne diseases."Cough, flu, chicken pox, jaundice, waterborne diseases like cholera, typhoid, jaundice, dysentery , amoebiasis, diarrhoea and many more are commonly seen, especially among those who are used to eating outdoors. The season is also famous for bringing asthma attacks, ear infections and blistery rashes on the hands and feet," said Harish. Murthy said that hot weather can cause you to experience restless nights, which can result in extreme tiredness the following day . 

Hyperthermia or heat-related illness is hazardous for elderly people and for people who have high blood pressure. Extreme fatigue accompanied by nausea, dizziness and cool, clammy skin signals a condition called heat exhaustion. The person afflicted requires immediate treatment to lower his or her body temperature. 

Prevention is easy 

It is always better to prevent diseases than to spend a huge amount to treat them. " Awareness should be the first step towards prevention," Manohar said. When the body clock changes, it makes us more vulnerable to diseases. Constant hydration, clean diet and personal hygiene are what people need to prevent it, he said. 

That's not all. "Limit outdoor activities during peak hours - like 10 am to 2 pm. Stay out of direct sunlight and ensure that you are hydrated with non-diuretic fluids and also avoid very cold drinks," said Harish. 

Apart from this, mass vaccination, health-screening camps and having healthy food and drinks are also necessary , Murthy said. 

Here are some tips 

Our body loses a lot of water in the form of sweat in summer. However, to maintain the balance of water in the body , constant hydration is important and to maintain the electro lyte balance, it is recommended to consume vegetable or fruit juices or tender coconut water instead of aerated drinks and alcohol, said Manohar. 

This is the season that makes people thirstier than any other season.Harish advised against eating cut fruits and food items from roadside vendors, while advocating an increase in the intake of water that is purified. Take a lot of fluids if you are travelling. Wear light-weight, light-coloured and loosely-fitted clothing. Exercise early in the morning when temperatures are lower. 

Employers can be proactive 

Employers too play a crucial role in motivating their workforces to become more productive at work during these hot days. 

"Summers are a very hectic period to work, especially when you are doing outdoor duty . During these days, our management always ensures the AC is switched on 24x7. In our cafeteria, we have started a separate counter to buy lassi and fruit juices," said Vijay George, operations manager at Skillspeed, an IT training company in Bengaluru. 

An employee from another IT company said that the management has relaxed the corporate dress code culture this season. "That is, we can wear whatever we want," he said. 

For a proactive employer, there are many ways to keep employees more involved in work. 

"In order to maintain a fresh environment, indoor plants can be planted. This keeps the area green, reduces the temperature and creates a positive impact," Manohar said. "Regular coffee breaks can be substituted by the promotion of consumption of naturally cooling drinks like buttermilk, vegetable juices, tender coconut water, etc. Also, bring to the notice of the employees the various ways in which they can prevent summer diseases," he said. Harish said, "Employers should establish a complete heat-illness prevention programme, which includes providing workers with water and other liquid fluids from time to time. Allow frequent breaks to new workers and modify work schedule, if necessary ." 

Source:-The Economic Times

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