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If you live in the UK, it's time to dig out the sunscreen as a heatwave is set to hit us this weekend and into next week.
With parts of the UK expected to see temperatures of up to 33°C (91°F), you may have to worry about staying cool.
A quick Google search for "how to stay cool in a heat wave" brings up a number of weird and wonderful actions, including drinking hot tea, eating spicy food, and even licking your wrists.
But do any of these methods actually work?
Ahead of the heatwave, MailOnline looked at the science behind these crazy cooling methods to help separate the truth from fiction.
While you may be tempted to reach for a cold drink to cool down, surprisingly hot drinks like tea and coffee can actually be more effective
1. Drink hot tea
While you may be tempted to reach for a cold drink to cool down, surprisingly hot drinks like tea and coffee can actually be more effective.
A 2012 study by researchers at the University of Ottawa examined the effect of drinking hot drinks on body temperature.
The results showed that a hot drink can cool you down - but only in dry conditions.
Speaking of which Smithsonian Mag Dr. Ollie Jay, one of the study's authors, explained: 'Drinking a hot drink will result in less heat retention in your body, provided the extra sweat produced when drinking the hot drink is allowed to evaporate.'
When you drink a hot drink, you start to sweat more. When sweat is allowed to evaporate, it cools you down - more than just compensating for the extra body heat from the liquid.
While sweating can be embarrassing, it is an essential body function that helps us stay cool.
As sweat evaporates from the surface of the skin, it removes excess heat by converting the water from a liquid to vapor.
However, in humid conditions this cooling effect is less effective, so drinking hot drinks will not help you cool down.
Dr. Jay explained: "If you wear a lot of clothing on a very hot and humid day, or have so much sweat that it drips onto the floor rather than evaporating from the surface of your skin, then drinking a hot beverage is a bad thing.
"The hot drink still adds a little heat to the body, so if sweat doesn't help with evaporation, go for a cold drink."
2. Eat spicy food
Instead of grabbing ice cream, you might want to opt for a spicy curry this week.
The “burning” you feel in your mouth when eating spicy food is caused by capsaicin – a chemical found in chilies.
This is usually followed by a similar feeling of warmth throughout the rest of your body, causing you to sweat.
Registered mail Scientific American explained Yale professor Barry Green: “Spicy foods stimulate receptors in the skin that normally respond to heat.
The “burning” you feel in your mouth when eating spicy food is caused by capsaicin – a chemical found in chilies. This is usually followed by a similar feeling of warmth throughout the rest of your body, causing you to sweat
“The central nervous system responds to everything the sensory system tells it.
“Therefore, the activity pattern of pain and warm nerve fibers triggers both the sensations and physical responses of heat, including vasodilation, sweating, and hot flashes.”
As we've seen when drinking hot drinks, sweating is one of the most important ways to regulate your temperature - tea and curry that is!
3. Lick your wrists
It is a tactic used by several creatures in the animal kingdom, including kangaroos and monkeys.
And as gross as it may sound, licking wrists also helps keep people cool.
The wrists contain pulse points – areas where you can feel your pulse because your blood vessels are close to the surface of the skin.
By licking your wrists, you use saliva to mimic the effects of sweat and cool the surface of your skin.
This slows blood flow and prevents your body from overheating.
If you don't like the idea of licking your wrists, you can also pour water on your wrists for a similar effect.
4. Disconnect your chargers
While most of us know that large, powerful electronic devices like televisions and computers generate a lot of heat, you may not think about unplugging smaller devices.
Lamps, kettles, irons and even chargers can generate a lot of heat when used heavily.
In 2020, researchers from ZDNet Test a wireless charger with a thermal imaging camera to examine how hot it was, both when in use and when not in use.
They found that when an iPhone 11 Pro Max was placed on the wireless charger, the device reached 32°C while the surrounding air reached 20°C.
"If you want charging to be cooler, remove all cases, avoid charging the phone in direct sunlight, and place the pad on a hard surface (not blankets or anything that might block the air holes)," they advised.
While most of us know that large, powerful electronic devices like televisions and computers generate a lot of heat, you might not think about unplugging smaller devices like chargers
5. Skip the alcohol
You might be tempted to head to the nearest pub garden during the heatwave, but if you do, try to lay off the alcohol.
Alcohol is a diuretic that makes you urinate more and can leave you severely dehydrated.
“Alcohol makes us pee more and more frequently, and fluid leaving our bodies at this rate can lead to dehydration if not replaced.” Drink consciously explained.
“It is important to replace lost fluids with drinking water if we decide to drink alcohol.
“The effects of dehydration include thirst, dizziness, lightheadedness and fatigue, a dry mouth and lips, and dark yellow and strong-smelling urine.”
Alcohol also causes the blood vessels in your skin to dilate, making you feel hotter.
It may sound counterintuitive, but research suggests that you shouldn't open all the windows to keep your house cool
6. Don't open all windows
It may sound counterintuitive, but research suggests that you shouldn't open all the windows to keep your house cool.
Hot air rises, meaning sunny rooms upstairs are warmer than those in the shade below - creating a pressure difference.
By opening the windows in these rooms, you can create a strategic breeze that draws in cool air from below and pushes warm air out of the house through the sunny rooms upstairs.
The idea of trying to breathe cooler may sound ridiculous, but seasoned yoga experts swear by a technique called Shitali Pranayama
7. Roll your tongue and breathe
The idea of trying to breathe cooler may sound ridiculous, but seasoned yoga experts swear by a technique called Shitali Pranayama.
Talk to Live Science Meera Watts, founder of Siddhi Yoga, explained how the technique can cool down your body in minutes.
“It starts with sitting in a comfortable position with your back straight and your hands on your knees,” she explained.
"Take the tongue out and fold it on the sides like a U shape. You need to breathe in through your tongue and breathe out with your nostrils in this tube position.
To feel the cooling sensation, repeat 5-8 times, lasting no more than a few minutes.'