Yes! Summer is finally here! But with great heat comes a great requirement for preparations.
Being in the heat can make you tired, dehydrate you and heighten sensory sensitivities. Here’s our guide to keeping your cool during the #HeatWave:
1. Water
Forgetting to drink is an easy thing to do, by making it a rule to keeping hydrated it can help keep you safe and help to keep you aware of your surroundings. Make sure to take a bottle with you (or two) whenever you’re on the move.
2. Snacks
Make sure to carry healthy snacks with you, and leave a non-meltable snack in your car (if you use a car to travel) or the bag you take with you when travelling day to day. If you are leaving the house for the day, try making a meal at home and carrying it with you in a plastic box to ensure that you have access to food that you like.
Top Tip: Setting alarms on your phone to make sure you keep hydrated and nutritionally sustained is a helpful tool, try setting alarms for once every hour or once every two hours based on how much you drink and how hot it is.
3. Sensory Survival Tools
Make sure to carry some of your portable sensory tools to help focus and relax your mind when you feel the pull of a meltdown. Try tangle fidgets, play doh, chewelry, squeezable toys. Another Sensory treat could be an Ice Lolly or an Ice Cream (or both!)
4. Find Shade
The sun will be at its hottest during 11am-3pm, when out and about staying in the shade helps protect you from UV rays and offers cooler temperatures. Remember the shadow rule: “Watch your shadow – No shadow, seek shade!”
5. Wear Sunscreen
By making it a rule to wear sunscreen before heading outside. You protect your skin from any sunburn and possible medical issues in the future. Apply a broad-spectrum sunscreen of SPF 15+ (or a high Factor if you require/prefer it) liberally and re-apply every two hours, or after working, swimming, playing or exercising outdoors.
6. Comfortable clothes
Go for clothes that are usually comfortable, hot days are not the days to wear clothes that are just tolerable. Tightly woven, loose fitting clothes will also provide additional protection from the sun.
7. Sunglasses and a Hat
The heat might increase your sensory sensitivities, some people find the heat makes them itchy and for some it might appear too bright. By wearing sun glasses and/or a hat, you’ll reduce the intensity of the brightness, allowing your eyes to see more and help you keep aware of your surroundings which will help with your emotional regulation.
A hat with a wide brim offers good sun protection for your eyes, ears, face, and the back or your neck. Sunglasses that provide 99 to 100 per cent UVA and UVB protection will greatly reduce eye damage from sun exposure.
8. Wet wipes
The travellers version of a cold towel, though a short term solution the ability to wipe away sweat and reduce the temperature on one part of your skin can make all the difference in keeping you calm and aware.
9. Sanitizer
Another useful tool in your arsenal of heat protection: reducing you hand temperature and keeping them clean for your snacks.
Here’s a printable checklist that you can download and use to help with your planning on hot days: keep cool printable
Other useful tips from the interweb:
We’ve also been told that some people like to use a cool pillow, which is a freezable pillow (kind of like a cold version of a hot water bottle), when they sleep to keep comfortable.
What are your tips to keep cool in the heat? Let us know in the comments!
