Your body temperature is your body’s ability to generate and dissipate heat. Your body’s normal temperature is 98.6°F, but based on some factors it can be higher or lower. The average adult body temperature is between 97.8°F and 99.0°F. During hot weather, your body’s core temperature rises significantly. So it’s important to reduce body heat naturally and get rid of additional heat.
Usually, your hypothalamus and autonomic nervous systems keep your body at the ideal temperature. If your temperature becomes too low or too high, you can catch a severe fever. However, there are some times when your body heat rises, this situation is known as heat stress. You can suffer from heat stress due to several factors including extreme heat, certain foods, or other factors. Fortunately, there are some simple steps that you can take to reduce body heat naturally.
Common Reasons for Your Rising Body Temperature
There are a lot of reasons that can cause your body temperature to rise. Here’s a list of the most common reasons for body heat increase:
- Having an inflammatory illness, such as an infection. This type of illness can cause you to generate fever, and a fever is the most common indication that something is wrong with your body.
- Having a thyroid disorder known as hyperthyroidism. This causes your body to produce too much thyroid hormone.
- Spending time in hot and humid weather. Especially when you’ve spent time in direct sunlight or have been doing physical activity.
- Wearing tight-fitting, synthetic clothes. These fibers end up sucking the moisture in your body. You shouldn’t wear tight clothes in hot weather.
- Consuming drinks with high caffeine or alcohol quantity
- Performing intense physical exercises. This can increase heat in your body as active muscles and related blood circulation can create a lot of heat.
- Having a specific medical condition that impacts your body’s core temperature such as arthritis, leukemia, and other neurological disorders.
- Taking drugs that can increase body temperature, these include certain antibiotics, opioids, and antihistamines.
- If you’re dehydrated, it can cause your body temperature to increase. Dehydration can lower your body’s ability to sweat and cool down.
How to Reduce Body Heat Naturally?
Everyone knows the importance of hydrating their body at the ideal time, especially when you heat stress. If you want to reduce your body’s temperature, then there are several things that you can try. Here are some easy and effective ways to beat the heat this summer:
1. Cold Foot Bath
Placing your feet in a cold foot bath significantly cools your body down and allows you to sit back and relax. All you have to do is add cold water and ice cubes into a bucket of water. Place your feet in the water and soak for 20 minutes. If you want, you can add a few drops of peppermint essential oil for an additional cooling effect.
2. Coconut Water
Consuming coconut water is a great way to refresh and rejuvenate your body. Coconut water contains vitamins, minerals, and electrolytes, which makes it a good option to rehydrate your body.
3. Peppermint
Peppermint is famous for its cooling effects because of its high menthol content, which makes you feel cooler. You can drink hot or iced peppermint tea throughout the day. While you may think that you should avoid hot drinks, hot drinks make you sweat more and reduce your core temperature.
4. Hydrating Foods
During the summer season, you should consume foods that are rich in water content. Fruits such as cantaloupe, watermelon, and strawberries are good options. You should include vegetables in your diets such as celery, cucumber, and cauliflower. You can eat these vegetables as a salad. Or you can convert these vegetables into a smoothie by adding ice.
5. Sitali Breath
Sitali Breath is a yoga breathing technique and it has a cooling effect on your body. Sitali breath allows you to relax and cool down physically and mentally. To do sitali breath, you need to follow these steps:
- Sit in a comfortable seated position
- Stick out your tongue and roll out the outer edges as a hot dog bun
- Slowly inhale through your mouth and exhale through your nose
- Repeat breathing like this for up to 5 minutes
6. Dress Accordingly
The type of clothes you wear decides your body’s core temperature. You can wear sunglasses and a hat to protect yourself from the heat. Wear loose, light-colored clothes in natural fabrics such as cotton, linen, or silk. You can also wear semi-synthetic fibers to get rid of excess body heat. Products made from these kinds of fibers often dissipate body heat.
7. Aloe Vera
Aloe vera has natural healing capabilities. The leaves and inner gel of Aloe Vera can help you reduce your body’s temperature. You can apply aloe vera gel to your skin for a cooling effect. If you want better effects, you can keep aloe vera gel in the refrigerator before use. Aloe Vera can also be consumed internally, use 2 tablespoons of fresh aloe vera gel with 1 cup of water to make a cooling drink.
8. Buttermilk
Consuming buttermilk can help you cool down your body and improve your metabolism. It’s also full of probiotics (traditional buttermilk), vitamins, and minerals that are good for rejuvenating your body.
Try drinking a glass full of cold buttermilk. You can add honey or yogurt if you want additional flavoring.
9. Fenugreek
Having a cup of Fenugreek may he;p you bring on a sweat, allowing your body to cool down. If you don’t want to drink a hot drink, you can make the tea, store it in the refrigerator before drinking it. Fenugreek tea may also help get rid of excess fluid in your body and detoxify your body.
10. Chilli
It’s a lesser-known fact, but eating chili can help in reducing your body’s temperature. The reason behind that is simple, the capsaicin in chili sends messages to the brain that your body is overheating. This causes you to sweat more and ultimately reduces your body’s core temperature.