9 Cooling Hacks For The Hottest Days Of Summer

The first five months of 2015 were the hottest first five months of any year in recorded history. And then it got hot! Here are seven ways to beat the heat on the hottest days of summer. According to NOAA's National Climactic Data Center, the hottest day of the year in the United States, on average, is historically July 24th, which is still over a week away. That means we still have a ways left to go with this sticky summer business before things start to cool down again. Is there a groundhog somewhere that I can hold responsible for this weather?

People say in winter, you can just keep adding layers until you're nice and toasty, but these warmer months require a little more creativity since, in the summer, it's not socially acceptable to just keep stripping until you're comfy. And you can't reasonably expect anyone sharing your bed to let you spray your sheets down with ice water before climbing in for the night.

Just to make things more challenging, unlike the winter, when it's pretty much always warmer inside a building than out, your apartment might just be a good five degrees warmer than the great outdoors, if not properly ventilated. And to add insult to injury, we humans have been using heat to achieve things like cooking, cleaning, and hair-drying since the discovery of fire, so those tasks just became that much more appealing.

1. Cook meals on a grill or in a crockpot

Keeping the heat generated by meal-prep to a minimum makes it easier to maintain the temperature of your home. It's currently 86 degrees in my apartment with the windows closed and the AC bumping, so I'm doing both tonight— making chili in the crockpot and chicken sausage hot dogs on the grill. Yum.

2. Drink hot coffee or iced coffee, depending on the climate

People in dry climates can actually help trick their bodies into thinking the outside temperature is cooler by drinking hot coffee. If you live on the East coast, you're best sticking with the iced coffee, since the humidity won't allow your sweat to evaporate, and hot coffee will just make it worse... sorry.

3. Eat cold things, obviously

Go eat some ice cream, froyo, snow cones, popsicles, and frozen bananas. You're welcome.

4. Create your best air flow with multiple fans

You can get a pretty good cross-breeze going with an efficient use of fans. Direct the cooler air from a box AC unit to warmer rooms or open your windows and steer the breeze to your favorite spot on the couch.

5. Let your hair air dry

You know in the winter how you never want to go anywhere with wet hair because you will be freezing and so will your hair? This is the opposite of that. Skip the heat that your hair dryer will generate in your home and opt for the wavy, beachy air dried look.

6. Try this crazy yoga cooling breath

Apparently, if you curl your tongue like this little lady and breathe in through your mouth and out through your nose, it will lower your body temperature. I tried for a minute, but my dogs started wigging out, so I had to stop.

7. Close the shades when the sun is shining in your windows

Sure, you may feel a little like you're living in a cave, but at least you won't get a sunburn while you're watching YouTube videos on your laptop.

8. Speaking of your laptop, put it on a table so you don't melt off your thighs

You'll be much more comfortable if you don't have the fire of 1000 MacBooks burning through your jeans.

9. Don't get sunburned either

Once you get sunburned, it's a big ol' mess from that point on. You'll literally be radiating heat under your clothes, and then the peeling and the itching will make you miserable and remind you how hot it is all over again. So wear sunscreen.

Looking for more instant ways to beat the heat this summer? Check out these genius cooling tricks, and for more life hacks, visit Bustle on YouTube.

Images: gabrielap93/Flickr; Giphy (8); the_little_yoga_company/Instagram