This summer the temperature and humidity will rise in the Las Vegas valley making working out a challenge both indoors and out. Heat related injuries and illnesses are some of the most serious risks in the hotter months especially to active adults and families. Here are a few simple tips that can help reduce your exposure and maximize the good times this summer:
- Stay out of the sun- seek out shade and limit time spent in direct sunlight. Even on a mild day direct sunlight can greatly reduce the body’s ability to regulate its temperature. In Las Vegas direct sunlight is just part of life so make sure to limit time spent in direct sunlight especially as the temperature in the air and the humidity increase towards mid summer. Even something as simple as an umbrella can offer shade and reduction in ambient temperature
- Drink plenty of water- Our bodies use water to help regulate body temperature, water has an incredible ability to absorb energy and carry heat. Meaning that as the body heats up, that heat is stored in water that our body releases as sweat and evaporates on the skin’s surface to cool you. In order to adequately sweat and cool the body it is very important to drink plenty of water. This is especially important in the desert Southwest where humidity can regularly fall below 20% making it much harder to retain vital water.
- Reduce outdoor workout time to morning and evening hours- The sun is at its strongest between 11 am and 3 pm when the ground and lower levels of air have been fully heated and are now radiating heat up from the ground as well as being heated from the sunlight above. Because of this it is vitally important to restrict outdoor workouts in the afternoon time. In the Las Vegas area this window of time can expand from 9am to 8pm in the hotter summer months. Night walks and runs can be a great way to beat the heat but if time is a crunch then try working out in an air conditioned space.
- Protect your skin from sunburns- the skin is the largest organ in the body and is responsible for protecting the body from harm including overheating. When the skin is sunburned or damaged it is less able to produce sweat and less able to evaporate sweat over a large area. Simply applying 30spf sunscreen to exposed areas of skin can reduce damage to the skin and related structures by the suns rays.