How to Cool Down Fast and Remedy Dehydration

There’s nothing more fun than spending a lot of time under the sun. As the weather warms up, spending time outdoors with family and friends feels gloriously good, right?

However, the heat outside can be uncomfortable, annoying, or downright dangerous. Dehydration and heat exhaustion may result if your body is overheating and doesn’t know how to cool down fast on its own. Signs range from parched mouths to body malaise to a rapid, weak pulse.

Before you engage in physical activities during months of hot weather and before staying out too long under sunny skies, you need to learn how to cool down fast.

This article is packed with information on how to recognize dehydration resulting from heat exhaustion and how you can cool down quickly.

How Your Body Regulates Heat

As one of the four vital signs, your body temperature can tell a lot about your current health. The other vital signs include your blood pressure, heart rate, and respiratory rate.

Normal body temperature is 98.6°F (37°C). However, some people may have a slightly warmer or cooler body temperature.

Your body maintains its core temperature through thermoregulation. It is one of the bodily processes that help your body accomplish homeostasis or a state of balance.

The hypothalamus in the brain regulates your core temperature. As the body’s master thermostat, your hypothalamus sends signals to the rest of your body and makes adjustments when the surrounding temperature is too cold or too hot.

For example, when your hypothalamus senses that your body is too hot on a warm, sunny day, it will send signals to your skin’s sweat glands. As a result, your skin starts to increase its sweat production as a way of cooling down. Meanwhile, when it senses that your body is too cold, the hypothalamus will send signals to your muscles. You end up shivering as a way of warming up.

Dehydration and Heat Exhaustion: What's the Connection?

Heat-related illnesses like heat exhaustion happen when your body overheats and can't keep up with the increase in body temperature. When you have heat exhaustion, your body is unable to maintain its normal internal temperature.

Dehydration and heat exhaustion often go hand in hand. Dehydration can worsen heat exhaustion, as it can make it more difficult for your body to produce sweat and cool down.

When you’re in a state of dehydration, water alone is not enough. Your body needs the perfect balance of sodium and glucose to help absorption. With a precisely balanced ratio, you can replenish vital electrolytes and fluids to remedy dehydration quickly.

What Causes Heat Exhaustion and the Inability to Cool Down Fast

Engaging in strenuous physical activities during a heatwave or when the heat index is above 91 degrees Fahrenheit can result in heat exhaustion. The heat index is what the temperature feels like to your body when relative humidity combines with air temperature.

Humidity levels over 60% can also increase the risk of heat exhaustion.

In addition, people over the age of 60 and those with chronic health conditions like diabetes and cardiovascular diseases have a higher risk of developing heat exhaustion and dehydration. Every so often, this has to do with their body's inability to adapt to changes in body temperature.

Children are also more susceptible to heat exhaustion because their body surface area makes up a greater proportion of their overall body weight (in contrast to adults). This means it takes more time for dry heat to dissipate in children's bodies. Generally, children have lower sweating rates than adults.

Finally, drinking alcohol and caffeine can increase the risk of dehydration because it limits your body's ability to sweat and control its body temperature.

Signs Your Body Is Having Trouble Cooling Down

You may feel thirsty at first. As the heat exhaustion progresses, you will likely feel hot and dizzy.

These are some of the main signs of heat exhaustion to look out for:

• Light-headedness

• Headache

• Fatigue or low energy

• Facial skin that feels hot and looks flushed

• Excessive sweating

• Fainting

• Irritability

• Pale, cold, or clammy skin

• Rapid or irregular heartbeat

• Low blood pressure

• Rise in internal body temperature

• Dark urine, a sign of dehydration

• Muscle cramps

• Nausea or vomiting

• Shallow breathing

• Red or flushed facial skin that feels hot

How to Cool Down Fast and Address Dehydration

Signs of heat exhaustion and dehydration generally improve if you rest in a cool place, consume fluids, and effectively replenish electrolytes.

While you should drink water regularly, water alone doesn’t contain many electrolytes. Regular sips of DripDrop with a unique combination of essential minerals can help you defeat dehydration fast.

Tips to Help You Cool Down Quickly

Here are some lifestyle adjustments you can make to help you cool down fast and stay cool, particularly on hot, humid days:

1. Consume Plenty of Fluids With DripDrop

Carry a water bottle with you. For something more effective than water when it comes to relieving dehydration, try DripDrop, which comes in a variety of flavors, including Watermelon, Fruit Punch, and Berry.

The unique formula provides medically relevant electrolyte levels. It’s powerful enough to use in extreme circumstances but safe enough for everyday use. Plus, DripDrop supplies vitamins like zinc, potassium, and magnesium, which are essential to support your overall health.

2. Remove Extra Layers When Working Outside

Remove any layers, jackets, or beanies that you don’t need. If you want to cool down fast, you need that sweat to evaporate right away. To help sweat evaporate, you want air to flow over your skin as much as possible. For this reason, think light and loose the next time you decide what to wear during hot weather conditions.

3. Choose Air Conditioning Over Electric Fans

The CDC recommends air conditioning as the strongest protective factor against heat-related illnesses like heat exhaustion.

Next to the air conditioner, taking a cold shower is also a good way to cool off.

While they can provide comfort, electric fans will not relieve heat-related illnesses when the temperature is in the high 90s.

If you have to choose fans, use the following pro tips to improve ventilation for cooler air and increase airflow:

• Point fans out of the open windows so they can push hot air out. Ceiling fans should also turn counterclockwise so they can pull hot air up.

• Create a cooling cross-breeze by positioning a fan across from an open window. A cooling effect occurs when the wind from outside combines with the fan’s cool air.

4. Avoid Drinks With Caffeine and Alcohol.

Skip the caffeine and alcohol. ​​Caffeine may increase body temperature, while both alcohol and caffeine can make you sweat and pee more. This combination can result in dehydration.

5. Pace Yourself When Exercising or Working in Hot Temperatures

Limit your activities outdoors during hot weather. If you're not used to engaging in physical activities in a hot environment, start slowly and do not increase your pace right away. Stop all activity if exertion leaves you gasping for breath, makes your heart pound, or makes you feel lightheaded. If possible, stay cool by choosing shaded trails or areas alongside rivers for your physical activities. If you have to work outside, work during cooler times of day like early mornings or evenings. In addition, wear sunglasses and a wide-brimmed hat if you’re going outside. Sunscreen helps because a sunburn can make it harder for your body to cool down.

More Tips to Cool Your Core Temperature

• You can plunge arms, hands, and feet in cold water. Studies show that immersing hands and arms in cool water helps vulnerable people avoid heat-related illnesses.

• Place ice packs or cold compresses on pulse points like the armpits, groin, neck, wrists, elbows, ankles, and behind the knees. The large blood vessels in these parts of the body can cool your body faster than when you place ice elsewhere on the body. A spray bottle with cool water can also help you feel refreshed.

• Make a quick DIY cold compress by partly filling a plastic bag with crushed ice or small ice cubes. Wrap the plastic bag in a dry cloth before placing it on your skin.

• A warm water shower may sound contradictory, but it helps you cool down fast because the warmth of the water sends a rush of blood to your hands and feet, where veins are right under the skin. This lets off warm body heat.

If you have difficulty cooling down and think you have heat exhaustion, seek medical help immediately.

How to Remedy Dehydration

When temperatures start to rise, cool down quickly by staying indoors with air conditioning and drinking plenty of fluids. You can also increase your body’s fluid volume with a delicious DripDrop. It’s a fast, effective, and great-tasting remedy for mild to moderate dehydration. Plus, the convenient packaging allows you to have DripDrop when you need it, where you need it.

Get started with our most popular multi-flavor pouch for dehydration relief fast. Or, learn more about how you can save up to 25% on every purchase when you subscribe.