Regular exercise throughout the year is crucial for maintaining good health. But in summer you might feel yourself sweating more and wonder if it’s actually risky. If you like to exercise outdoors, summer gives you more chance to catch the daylight.
It’s often easier to get out of bed and still light when you finish work, but what about when it gets really hot? So, how hot is too hot? Here’s what to keep in mind when exercising in the heat.
Normally, the body maintains a core temperature around37°C. But exercising – especially when it’s hot and humid – can put more strain on these processes. Even seemingly small changes in core temperature, of around3°C, can potentially lead toexertional heat illness.
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This is when your body becomes overwhelmed trying to control a rapid rise in core temperature, especially during strenuous activity. Mildsymptomscan include headaches and feeling faint. Severe cases can lead to seizures, loss of consciousness or evendeath.
It would be great if there was a definitive temperature cut-off we could point to, but the answer isn’t so straightforward. Environmental factors that can lead to exertional heat illness involve more than just the air temperature. Humidity, wind speed, and solar load (meaning how much cloud cover there is) caninteract and affecthow hot it feels and how well your body copes.
For example, in humid weather, the amount of moisture in the air makes it harder for sweat toevaporateoff the skin’s surface – which is the body’s best cooling mechanism. Howlong and hardyou train will also affect how much heat your body stores. TheAmerican College of Sports Medicinerecommends non-continuous exercise – such as football – can go ahead in hotter conditions than continuous exercise, such as long-distance running or cycling.
This is because breaks help the body cool down. Other factors can also play a role in your risk of exertional heat illness:
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