What are some good ways to acclimate to hot weather?

Immerse yourself in it. Go outside, or sit in and swelter. It gets more bearable the more you’re exposed.

And when that gets unbearable, stick ice-packs under your armpits. It feels really good.

A pool of some sort is great. Even if it is a large kiddie pool. I have a ‘hot’ tub, that becomes the ‘cold’ tub all summer. I soak before bed and star gaze and it lowers my core temp. waay down, so I can sleep well without leaving the AC on all night, which rarely happens.

What about an attic fan or better ventilation? As for acclimation, that just takes time.

When I switched from tennis shoes to sandals it made a huge difference. Then I found capris and , along with sandals, I stayed cooler than ever well, not cool when it’s 98.
If you meant indoors you could just go barefoot which is very uncomfortable for me on tile.

Another thing I have been doing for years is to buy some body spray like Calgon or something not to expensive but smells nice. I pour about half the bottle or a little less into another recycled body spray bottle and dilute it with water to the fill line. I keep this in my car at all times and it is sooo refreshing to mist yourself while driving, even with the AC on and, it makes your car smell nice too!

I keep another bottle next to my bed and mist myself and my sheets at night too. :-)

When at home then I dress in thin cotton and keep my skin lotioned. If I get to feeling too dry hot then I mist with water in a small spray bottle and find one of the ceiling fans to breeze with.

At night when trying to sleep, it helps if I wash my feet, smother them in lotion and let them air dry and I kick back on the bed. Lotion stays on my nightstand for during the night to rub my hands and feet each time I get up for or reach for water.

I turn the inside blinds so the slats angle up, keeping the light from streaming downwards through the cracks and into the rooms. During the day I draw cloth curtains across the blinds.

Outside we’re mounting roll-up shades outside sliding windows and windows not shaded by a patio.

When I first moved to my current state (pit of hell) then I went nowhere without some bottled water. In the evenings then I’d soak in a tub of lukewarm water, as cool as I could take and let my body hydrate that way too.

I’ve had pretty good success with those cooling headbands. Cover with hat to avoid looking like a reject from the 70’s.

It sounds like you are a flower of the North. Consider moving somewhere where it doesn’t get above the 70s very often like Seattle.

Traditonally, some indigenous groups drink strong sassafras tea to help their bodies get used to heat. I’ve yet to try it myself, though.

I am from Scotland where it is nice and cool but I have experienced the extreme heat of an Alabama summer. A midday shower helps, but hot and humid conditions drain me of all energy. Only the mosquitoes like it.

@incendiary_dan – Thanks, I’ll try that!
@marinelife – My people, going back, are Scots and Germans, but I’m pretty committed to Michigan.
@RealEyesRealizeRealLies – I’ve never heard of those, so I’ll look into it.
@Neizvestnaya – I often just tie a sarong around, so the thin cotton idea works. Never considered lotion, will try.
@Coloma – Hey, I don’t know why I haven’t tried the spray! I should. No hot tub, but we do have a bathtub for a cool soak.
@Aster – Sandals and capris are my summer uniform, even to work.
@Pied_Pfeffer – As a condo, no attic – but we do have fans around the house.
@ANef_is_Enuf – Just suffering through it, is what works for Mr. Laureth who was once stationed in Turkey during his time in the Army. I think I would have died. I keep hoping one year I will just “get used to it.”
@flutherother – I totally hear you. I’d like to just sort of adapt, to where I don’t need cool soaks or fans, but I’m almost 40 and so far, unable.

In early June, 1979 we had no A/C and it reached 115º. I soaked a shirt in cool water, wrung it out a little, and put it on. The cooling effect lasted for about 2 hours.

How about keeping your upper body wear in the refrigerator or the freezer?

Another heat-coping tactic I use is not cooking, and eating only room-temperature and cold foods, such as salads.

@laureth if it is any consolation, I can’t get used to it, either. We don’t have a/c and it gets really humid in the summer here. In fact, it’s 72F (76%humidity), and I’m miserable. So I do relate. I am a cool weather person all the way.

@Brian1946 – Wet T-shirt. It sounds cooling, and I bet Mr. Laureth approves! :D

Last summer, in July, I moved from Northern Ontario to downtown Toronto. The weather isn’t that much hotter down here, but it’s a ton more humid, especially in the middle of the city. One thing that I found really helped was to keep hydrated. Drink a ton of water. It really helps.

Another thing I’d do when I was really feeling the heat was to either run cold water or an icecube over my inner forearms. I don’t know how much science there is behind it, but someone once told me that because the veins/arteries are closer to the skin here, it helps to cool your blood. Like I said, it might be bullshit, but it seems to help.

Also, cool baths or showers are awesome!

You could also try using a Peppermint Spritzer Besides its other great benefits, it really helps to cool & refresh the body.

Try wearing extra layers in the colder months, then going on to simply jeans and a shirt in the summer. Works for my dad.

I live on the Gulf Coast where both the temperature and humidity stay in the high nineties from June through September. And it seems like it’s getting hotter every year. The only things I know of to beat this kind of heat is to get out in the sun, in the water and stay active. I found that once I get my first tan of the year, I don’t feel the heat as much. It feels like you have some sun inside you and it kind of equalizes the interior body temp and ambient temp. Old southerners accomplished the same thing by drinking hot coffee or tea. But cold water is the only drink that can quench my thirst in this heat, although a vodka tonic can momentarily refresh and relieve some of the discomfort, I pay dearly on the other end, even after just one. I sweat out the alcohol within the hour and feel twice as hot as before.