Strategies for a Healthy Summer: Recommendations and Precautions to Follow
As the days grow longer and temperatures rise, summer is upon us, offering opportunities for outdoor activities, physical exercise, and improved health. However, it's essential to be mindful of the potential risks that come with the warmer weather.
Physical activity during the summer months can have numerous benefits, including promoting mental health, preventing obesity, enhancing fitness, improving sleep quality, and reducing the risk of certain cancers, heart problems, and skin conditions. But it's crucial to stay hydrated, as dehydration can lead to dangerous complications like kidney damage, kidney failure, and shock.
Staying hydrated is crucial in hot weather to replenish fluids lost through sweating. Anyone experiencing heat exhaustion should stop, rest, shelter out of the sun and in a cool place, and drink plenty of water or sports drinks. Drinks containing alcohol or caffeine are not effective against dehydration and can increase fluid output.
Sun protection is necessary due to potential skin damage and cancer risk from UV light. Wearing protective clothing, staying in the shade, and using sunscreen with a higher SPF can help reduce the risk of sunburn. Sunscreen should be reapplied after swimming or sweating.
Insect stings are responsible for more than 500,000 emergency room visits every year in the U.S. Backyard barbecues, sweets, and proteins can attract yellowjackets, wasps, and hornets. These insects tend to sting repeatedly, posing a serious threat to both adults and children. Picaridin and permethrin are also effective insect repellents, and insect repellent containing DEET can help prevent insect bites. DEET with a strength of 30 percent protects for 4-6 hours.
Heat exhaustion symptoms include cool, moist skin with goose bumps, heavy sweating, faintness, dizziness, nausea, headache, fatigue, weak pulse, low blood pressure, muscle cramps, and headache. Heat exhaustion can progress to heatstroke, a potentially fatal condition. Wearing lightweight clothing, avoiding direct sunlight, using air conditioning, and drinking plenty of water can help prevent heat exhaustion and heatstroke.
Summer also offers opportunities for outdoor leisure activities, such as walking, hiking, visiting zoos, exploring nature reserves, biking, jogging, swimming, and more. The early morning and late afternoon can be ideal for outdoor activities, as the sun is less intense during these times.
For those at a higher risk of skin cancer, it's essential to use sunscreen with a higher SPF. Broad-spectrum sunscreen with SPF 50 or higher can protect against UVA and UVB rays.
However, as the days grow shorter and the weather turns cooler, individuals with Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD) may face mental health challenges. To mentally prepare for the transition from summer to winter, several effective strategies can help manage mood shifts and emotional challenges.
Light therapy is a cornerstone treatment for winter-pattern SAD. Exposure to bright, artificial light mimics natural sunlight and helps counter the reduced daylight of winter months. Having a structured daily schedule, engaging in regular exercise, practicing mindfulness and relaxation techniques, seeking support and therapy, setting realistic goals and building motivation, maintaining hydration and nutrition, and reflecting and planning during summer can all help individuals with SAD build mental resilience and ease the seasonal transition from summer to winter.
By combining these strategies, we can make the most of the summer months while also preparing for the challenges that may come with the changing seasons.
- Mental health benefits can be derived from summer activities, but individuals with Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD) may struggle as the days grow shorter and weather cools.
- In the summer, there are numerous physical health benefits associated with outdoor activities, but it's crucial to prioritize sun protection, stay hydrated, and be mindful of insect stings.
- Using sunscreen with a higher SPF, especially for those at a higher risk of skin cancer, and practicing insect repellent use can help reduce the risk of skin damage and insect bites during summer.
- To mentally prepare for the transition from summer to winter, strategies like light therapy, setting realistic goals, practicing mindfulness, and reflecting on one's plans can help manage mood shifts and emotional challenges.
