How to protect yourself from high temperatures when playing sports outside?

 

Any type of exercise is an activity that should be done regularly if possible – running and bodyweight exercises are cheap and accessible options for exercise that do not require additional payment or equipment. 

Depending on the type of physical activity, you can do sports outside, at home or in a special room or hall. But during the summer months, most types of sports are practiced outside because of the opportunity to play sports in the air and because of the higher temperature, which allows additional sweating. Some sports, such as football, are practiced outside all the time, while others, such as volleyball, have special variations - beach volleyball. 

Exercising outside is a nice form of exercise that gets us out of the routine at home and allows more contact with those around us, but as we age, the heat starts to turn out to be more of a detriment than a condition we seek. The heat is rising with each passing year, and although sweating helps burn more calories and a detox of sorts, the risk of heat stroke is not considered by everyone.

The progressive rise in temperatures does not necessarily stop you from exercising outside, but to avoid the risk of overheating it is good to prepare well and be more careful during the heat. Melanie McNeil, chief of physical and occupational therapy at the Joseph Barnhart Department of Orthopedic Surgery at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, offers a few tips to help cope with the heat.

• To begin with, it is recommended to avoid spontaneous intense exercise. The safest way to exercise outdoors is to gradually increase the load to a moderate degree;
• Bring more water and don't forget to drink it! Hydration is one of the most important things to do while you're out and about, and during exercise it becomes even more important. Even in sports such as swimming, the body dehydrates;
• Wear light, loose and light-colored clothing. They prevent excessive heating;
• Even if you don't go to the beach, apply sunscreen. Sunburn can happen to anyone, and during exercise a burn can be dangerous because it impairs the body's ability to regulate its temperature effectively;
• At the first sign of heat exhaustion or a similar condition, stop training. Such a symptom can be dizziness, nausea, headache and low blood pressure, as well as sudden vision problems.

 

Референции:
Cara Murez. (2023, July 24) Be smart when working out in steamy summer weather. Retrieved 2023, July 25 from https://medicalxpress.com/news/2023-07-smart-steamy-summer-weather.html