Heat Rage
It’s been a scorching hot summer so far and we know in only a few short months it will be cold again, so we shouldn’t be complaining about the heat. You’re thirsty, sweaty and sticky, and the slightest irritation makes you fly into a rage.
Why does the hot weather sometimes make us get more stressed out and angry? Well, according to a new study, that reaction is normal when it’s hot out. Nancy Molitor, an assistant professor of clinical psychiatry and behavioral science at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine says “many people feel a little hotheaded when the mercury rises. In fact, hot and especially humid weather is known to be associated with increases in aggression and violence, as well as a lower general mood.”
The lazy hazy days of summer are great when you’re not doing anything strenuous and just lying by the pool relaxing. But when you’re stuck in traffic, doing chores in sweltering house and running around town to do errands it can literally make you blow steam.
If you’ve noticed that your temper is reaching the boiling point, it’s the heat causing you to lose your cool. So, what are you doing to keep cool this summer? Please leave a comment below.
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(44 votes, average: 4.43) 
I use unitards & get them wet.When against the skin,it keeps the body much cooler.I used the unitards in a circus many years ago & found this out from another actor
I grab an ice cube and bending over I put it on the back of my neck where it melts & because my head’s upside down it melts and runs into my hair and dribbles over my scalp. Usually one ice cube cools me down but if needed I do it again with a second one. Guaranteed to cool you down. I also consume the large long Mister Freezies…they help…or I turn the hose on myself or direct the hose to the back of my neck,,,(same procedure as the ice cube but watch out…this cooling technique can take your breath away when the cold water hits the back of your neck)…but it sure cools ya down quick! I also run through the sprinkler or turn the hose onto my ankles and wrists. Anything with cold water…even a quick shower helps.
Relaxing in the A/C with an ice cold water.
Isn’t it true that the murder rate goes up in summer?
You better have an air conditioner in your room or else you will not sleep well and the heat rage will get worse!
Lots of meditation and staying relaxed!
I just try to meditate, breathe slowly, and stay hydrated.
Seems more like people just use heat or any type of stress as an excuse because they are people of low moral character that only act reasonably when everything is nice for them to do so.
To put it another way, lots of people never emotionally matured past the point where they could cry or whine to their mother to get their infant through young childhood problems taken care of and they think they can get attention and have others do for them what their mommy did and if others don’t they keep causing problems like a spoiled child would.
Please do not make excuses for people that don’t know how to act. If people are only expected to act nice in a perfect paradise then all is lost as there will never be that perfect paradise, no matter how good things get some people will just find the next most irritating thing and make that their new excuse to whine about life.
I live in the middle of the Tri-State between Arizona, Nevada, and California. I live in the Arizona side. I HATE it! It’s an average of 127F degrees every day! At night we get lucky here if it reaches 99F degrees.
I like Las Vegas, Nevada weather better it’s an average of 10F degrees less than where I live. I believe people that live in Northeastern of the United States are a bunch of whiners when they complain about heat. I’m moving to vegas in a few weeks for UNLV and I’m so excited!
When it starts cooling 70F degrees in October people start wearing jeans and sweaters. People from the North make fun of us and call us weak for some reason.
Out where I live water is like gold, literally. You cannot grow anything out here, you’re lucky if you can grow grass, usually it can be done by watering it all day and supplying it with good shade and giving it special fertilizers. However where I live is beautiful, the mountains, river, desert, etc. But I just wish it snowed here, the first time I saw snow was when I was eight years old. I wish it rained everyday, since it only rains 3 times a year out here. It’s just frustrating to go outside even for 5 minutes because you start sweating in the 128F degree weather!
Just stay inside whenever i can and avoid the heat.. my body is sensitive to heat.. i cant be outside for more than maybe 10 minutes in hot weather. the heat makes me sick.. funny thing is i can be in the cold for how ever long i want to be
When I’m doing chores and it is very hot, I always drink and sometimes pour it on me. It really cools me off and I get less cranky. Sometimes, I eat ice cream or just something cold.
I notice that in myself. I have to make an extra effort; breathing more or counting to ten before speaking.
‘Most’ of the time that works well.
Traditional Chinese Medicine, I believe, recommends us to tat foods that tonify yin. Personally, I eat fruits, like Pear, apple and banana, and salads, all of them help to cool down my body! Of course, juices are also good: Pineapple juice for instance, or a tea of seaweed. Avoid spicy foods is another suggestion, or, of course, foods that tonify yang.
My country is really like a sauna room in summer where it’s really “hot and humid and we the common people become a bit aggressive and violence, as well as a lower general mood”. However, when it starts raining we take shelter and our nerves cool down. It’s the winter time our people come out on the street to participate in street agitation and political scores are evened out in winter time, that is another matter altogether.
I for myself prefer to remain in the office and seldom go for outside trip in sweltering situation where our added bonus is lack of electricity that has been rationed for quite sometimes now, thanks again to the government who are, unfortunately, long on speech and short on delivery.
Btw, I’m from Bangladesh, we can see lots of street fights or quarrels in summer times. Your above contentions are thus corroborated in our part of the world.
Scorching summer… you’re joking right? In need of an ark or a canoe… due to the washed out summer and non stop RAIN.
i GO SWIMMING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Keep a freezing cold drink with me whenever I go out to do something, The icy drink helps keep my body temperature and temper down. and it’s cheap and easy thing to get.
If i dont have to work, i stay in the house with my air on all day. I cant stand summer!!! Hurry FALL!!
well…those problems never bother if One lives in London and experiences 16 degrees *heat* throughout July…
Chillin’ in the pool, and relaxing inside where it’s a comfortable 68 degrees.
Ice cubes feel really nice on hot skin they just melt
I work in 3rd gear, with more breaks. I don’t eat as I do in winter but I eat more often end lighter. Drink lot of fluids, and don’t drink alcohol!
Hot shower. Opens pores and makes the outside temperature feel cooler.
Amazing. What a shocking revelation!
Please don’t worry about being cranky all day, it’s because of the heat! We just discovered that trying to jog at 35 C can make you the *tinniest* bit angry. No worries! keep it cool!
how about some actual advice for a change? I’m literally melting.. evaporating by now and there’s NO air conditioning.
But thanks anyway, I didn’t really know that boiling makes people upset. I’d never have noticed!
drink watter
Pace myself and, if possible, get into an air conditioned room asap!
HOT summer? Jesus, in england its been cold as hell!
Well, not cold. But pretty darn rainy and not very warm.
stay cool, by eating less, wearing lighter clothes, & drinking lots of water, fewer chores, cooking, and exercise is limited.
Heat dose not make me cranky, I have that end under control. Just stay where it is cool more, put off doing the harder chores, and I try to stay out of traffic, drive less. The system seems to react to the dryer/humid weather, so keeping/showing, *more respect for the body helps here too. Definitely *stay away from more aggravating persons in these days, just get done what’s necessary, but enjoy life nevertheless, there is always *music! Feel Happy-*Joy!
Staying home with the air conditioner on ^^
1. Wear loose-fitting clothing, preferably of a light color.
2. Cotton clothing will keep you cooler than many synthetics.
3.Try storing lotions or cosmetic toners in the refrigerator to use on hot, overtired feet.
4.Avoid caffeine and alcohol as these will promote dehydration.
Keep in mind to have something fresh to drink when out and about in the hot weather. An Iced drink, you know the basics water, sports drinks, etc. Keep as cool as possible when you can take a break if your out in the heat , find a shady spot/ place have some cooled drinks ready at all time, especially if working outdoors . Expect the unexpected . Stay cool people ! God bless all
Interesting…
This happens to me!! Keep a spray bottle with you and use every excuse you can to get inside to sweet, cool AC.
Well I live in Australia and it can get really hot in summer, and during the Victorian Bushfires it reached a scorching 50 degrees Celcius on the first day back to school.
Needless to say most houses have an air conditioning system installed in their houses which helps to keep the house cool. You can also buy double glazed glass which keeps the cool in.
Also buy a refreshing iced tea from T2 – I have Turkish Apple and Cinnamon which we make in a big jug and add as many icecubes as can fit.
Basically just make cold drinks like iced coffee, iced tea. And eat salads for lunch and dinner, don’t make hot meals.
Wear as little clothes as is acceptably possible – singlet tops, shorts/skirts and thongs (flip-flops for amerians).
At night time sleep in as little clothing as possible and a thin sheet. If this is still too hot get a cool face washer and put it around your neck as this is the hottest part of the body and will spread the most heat throughout your body.
If you’re stuck in traffic put the air conditioning on full blast and remove as many clothes as you can or need to without sitting there completely naked. Even if that means just loosening your pants or something.
Doing chores, have the air con on at all times.
In essence, make sure you have every cooling device turned on.
Fresh squeezed orange juice is one of the very best things you can drink when it’s hot. It can help prevent a heat stroke. It replaces what your body loses in perspiration and is beneficial in many other ways when the weather is hot.
It has to be fresh squeezed. Frozen and cartoned orange juice is processed and the processing negatively affects the beneficial enzymes in the orange juice.
For some reason I really don’t mind the heat (90-ish degrees in a non-air-conditioned house). The cold drives me nuts though.
I have lived in all types of weather over my 60 years. Heat being one of the most. It never has bothered me. No problems ever. Love them all.
I would turn on my AC to 16 degrees and just relaxing in my house.
Ashu… very nice post and so… so… true!
I must admit that I do suffer from “Heat Rage”.
I find that if I fill a garden spritzer bottle or hair product spray bottle with ice cold water and spray myself when perspiring does the trick and cools me down for 5 to 10 minutes before I have to spray myself again. Plus the advantage to this is its very portable indeed!!!
Although, there is nothing like the air-conditioning in a modern car to cool you down!
Regards,
Barry!
I’ve never really had a problem with “heat rage”…I’m usually always calm. *(^_^)*
Icecream cools me down and puts me in a good mood
well in england we’ve had rain and no sun so……. i’d rather be you to be honest
WATER!!!!
If I’m outside, I use the hose and pour water all over my head. We have a well so it is REALLY cold. If I am inside, I enjoy the AC.
I Suffer terribly from the heat , sometimes i think people with very very fair skin and with red hair and freckles seem to suffer the worst effects.
i simply can not sweat i think i have such tiny skin pores could be the reason so i just get swollen hands and puffy ankles.
i have found a bottle of ice cold water held to my wrists and back of my neck works well , maybe a freezer bag with ice blocks to keep water cold in the car etc hope this helps.
near the air vent and a mini tv
Stay home with the AC on
Or if I’m going out I just freeze a bottle of water and head out with it.
Go to a haunted house! The creepy-ness of it cools you down.
I keep cool by staying indoors and I also keep a jug of cold water at hand to drink.
Go to the beach and or the pool everyday to cool off.
Wet a washcloth and put it in the freezer for a few hours. Bring it out and put it in between pillow and pillowcase to keep my head cool.
Also, keep a small spray bottle of water in the fridge and spritz occasionally.
Drinking ice water helps keep body temperatures down.
Put ice in the evap cooler.
Have a 12×30 pool in the backyard. Small but large enough to get wet and cool down in.
I carry a little dollar store spray bottle of water with me and keep my face and throat and arms wet. On the worst days, I’ll wear a black shirt that’s soaked in water and it keeps me cool as a cucumber.
But my job (Safeway cashier) requires a uniform of a starched polyester shirt, and polyester apron; plus I’m constantly lifting bags of groceries and heavier items like kitty litter and cases of water. So even though it’s much cooler at the till than it is outside, I can’t function without a little spray bottle of water that I can spritz myself with.
just move to the UK
but it is freezing in Australia right now.
I live in Texas, which is about 40 miles north of the 50,000-degree hot liquid fire core of the Earth. It’s HOT. I find that when I eat right and don’t get weighed down by heavy, greasy foods, I’m in a better mood and my body doesn’t absorb the heat as badly.
O oh yeah breathing the nurses told me. live in the moment when necessary.
I live in Scotland, there is no summer, so don’t have that problem ….it hardly made it to the mid-60ies in the past 2 months ….
I agree with Shelli Bell, I am from the north and I simply cannot sweat like others, so I finally overhet, get dizzi and in the worst case faint. Today we had 40 degrees in the shadow and I staed at home next to the AC, which also does not manage to cool down the air to less than 32 degrees any more . Additionally I use a pump spray bottle (for flowers) fill it with water and ice cubes, and spray it inside a fan or on me. I also wear sometimes half-wet clothes, but they dry very fast as we have dry heat here.If I have to leave the house I taker a bottle of cold water and spill it on me regulrly, especially on the ancles and the hair.
I’m generally opposite… I prefer the heat to the cold, and I’m actually in my best mood when it’s hot out.
swim at 5:00 in the morning for 2 hours and then go play video games inside
If I am not in my airconditioning at home or car, I use a spray bottle with an electric fan ( battery operated)
Cools you off great!
Drink LOTS of water!! And cool off in front of an air conditioner or fan. It is always good to sweat, but STAY COOL!
Does the temperature or increased humidity make everyone’s temper’s rise, or is it only some people? If so, what could be causing this in those folk? Could it be a lack of a certain vitamin in the body?
Or perhaps certain people may not be able to handle heat for some reason, perhaps have become heat sensitive following an episode of sun-stroke in their past. Anybody know?
Set Air conditioner to desired temperature if indoors
Wears shorts outdoors
Everyone has heard of SAD (Seasonal Affective Disorder) that affects people deprived of sunlight in the winter. 4 to 6 percent of the US population suffers, more or less, from SAD. There is a condition called Summer SAD or Reverse SAD that affects less than one percent of the US population wherein sufferers become agitated, stressed and depressed during high heat and humidity of summer. I am, unfortunately, one of these few. I loathe south Texas summers and spend most of my days indoors, avoiding the sun. I’ve learned to control the condition to some extent, but there are days when cabin fever sets in and makes me want to climb the walls! Doubly tough because I’m normally an outdoors person…just not in the summer!
I just use a spray bottle filled with chilled water. The air conditioner in my room is busted at the moment so to cool off, I spray water from the spray bottle to keep myself cool. It always helps especially if you have a fan on. But while I’m outside, or driving for instance, I just spray here and there, and I feel a lot more relaxed in a jiff. Listen, I’m a hot-natured person, and when it’s hot outside I do not tolerate that in the slightest bit. As long as I have my water spray, I’m coolio.
When i can to i work at night outside for the cooler temperature.
makes sense now i know why i been so ticked off.lately.i went camping and stuck in the woods didn’t help so me and my family went swimming in lake michigan and my mood not only lifted but i was having so much fun.
Vodka on the rocks
Thanks, Cristina from Arizona for reminding me that your place is hotter than mine. Compared to your situation, at 90 plus Fahrenheit here I Am a whiner. But this sustained (and increasing) heat and humidity is breaking records in Ontario. I’m unused to it being so hot and heavy for so long. Neither are the orchards and fields and farm animals.
What am I doing? Keeping within any air-conditioned place as long as I can. Wonderful places, food-courts and public libraries, though it’s impossible to buy cold water in a library. It’s slightly quieter there, and more books to divert my mind from the heat.
I am from the old school. When I was a child; the only thing I can remember when it was scorching hot; was to “stay still” and in the shade. My parents would not let us out unless we had our hats on and a thin layer of some type of skin oil or grease. Not cooking grease. To prevent us from sun burn. We drank plenty of fluids; mostly water. We got yelled at a lot for running around without our hats. You loose at lot of body perspiration. Which can be dangerous for young people and the elderly. Stay cool and keep calm and wear your hat. Wait for the sun to start going down. You will function better. When you do not do any of these things; you will become uncontrollable and out of place to others around you. This will make others around you go into a rage. Because of your own behavior. Think smart, Think cool”, “safety first”. Have fun. Enjoy the “whole day”.
Eat hot spicy sower food specially liquid. Due to result you will keep on feeling thirsty and you will keep on drinking water.Yor kidney will fnction properly due to sower food and your extra thurst will keep you hydrated in so you will not feel angry because 90% brin is water .So when you have less water in your body you feel irritated.
A good home made drink is in 2 glass of water add half lemon 1 pinch of salt ( as the taste of tears) 2-3spoon of suger, molases or Jagery little bit of hot pepper. but during whole day you have to drink 4-5 glasses of this water during 10am to 4 pm time. If ou like you can add roasted cumin seed powder to make it antioxident and add rock salt to not to increase you sodium lavel and increase blood pressure.
Simple.
A good way to not waste water is to get a big bucket of water, and place your feet in it.
Go swimming.
i rise above the heat…even though heat rises ahhaaha! no seriously just dont get stressed and it is great
This post is so true! I’ve already been feeling impatient before the summer and that it is summer, I’m getting even more irritated. I’m just ready for things to be done.
I just live in england, we don’t have to worry about heat this summer.
I turn on my AC or fan and listen to my iPod.
@pohpoh actually murder rates decrease over the summer time. There is no definte answer as to why but I assume its because people are too busy trying to find ways to cool down…
I turn up the air conditioning, wear light dresses, and eat lots of ice. Although our AC breaks a fair bit, so it’s horrible when it gets over 40 and we have no AC. At least I don’t live near the bush.
buy some ice and lay in it for 3-4 hours while some guy cuts out your kidneys and sell them then use the money to buy air conditioning.
We have AC
This is pretty simple: air conditioning. It’s a wonderful invention, for those who seem not to have heard of it. If I had a religion, whoever invented the air conditioner would be my first saint.
i cool off by staying home all day with the AC on and ice cold soda
I eat ice cream
try to ignore the hot weather, have some cool water and meditate….
This happens to me!! Keep a spray bottle with you and use every excuse also .
ok
This post is so true, and now it makes sense why at work I have been getting more irritated and stressed with my customers and co-workers more easily than usual. Im a cashier at Kroger, which naturally you would think would be nice, standing inside in some air conditioning. But it’s far from cool in there, half of the air conditioning is broke making work miserable unless you work in the freezer section.
I usually stay cool by the pool when Im at home as was mentioned. But at work I do whatever it takes to stay cool while Im on register. We have a milk cooler up front near the registers, which is where I go stand in front of while I wait for a customers to walk up to my lane. Or if I’m running the self scan I go lean against the ice bag freezer which is right next to the self checkout. On break I go and sit in the freezer.
easy. Make sure you wear a wide-brim hat, carry a small water bottle AND do not expose your skin to the sun-wear a thin layer of loose long-sleeve top and pants.
It’s summer all day every day where I’m from
Hot n humid
Misty Mate (or similar), handheld fans, air-con.
I hate the 103 heat. Usually, I drink lots of cold drinks and eat Popsicles/ice cream to cool off. It actually helps!
I see this exact reaction to heat in myself. I’m hot natured so I stay easily irritated. I keep my a/c on 65-70 at all times. Even have fans blowing cool air cause I cannot stand ths heat! And I know getting overheated makes me cranky.
I do anything I need to do outside or in town early morning or as the sun sets.
It stays around 95 or so daily here where I’m at. The night drops to about 75 or so. Love the cool Summer nights! But absolutely HATE Summertime.
CANT WAIT TIL FALLLLLLLL !!
If you can get to a lake, go! Or visit a water park. Avoid sugary drinks and drink lots of water. Eat light, small meals. If your indoors, either use fans or air conditioners. Wear loose, light clothing made of cotton…….not nylon. Nylon clothes just stick to you. Girls should carry rubber bands or bandanas to put hair up when its hot.
I honestly don’t go outside. I just stay inside when it’s hot out. I’m use to the cold weather/60 degree weather because I live in Wisconsin. We’re not use to the hot, LOL. I have fair complected skin too so I burn VERY easily, even with sunscreen on. Best way to stay cool, stay inside in a pool that refreshes with ice cubes every hour!
I live in a country where the summer temprature is above mid 40′s early in the morning and stays high for pretty much all the night too.
We don’t have a lot of electircity and airconditioning is rare.
My way of staying cool is to alway cover my head with a wet towel or sheet of cloth when going out in the sun, drinking plent of water and most of all, ignoring the heat. Interestingly, wearing shades in the sun helps a great deal, some of the intensity is in the mind i guess, if you obsess about it, it will get wrose.
I used to walk for about 10 km daily to and from my grad school in this weather(and go the gym too). Distracting one’s mind is the best way to keep it kool. By the time I would reach home, ALL my clothes would be drenched wet with sweat (and i am talking about the folded collar of a dress shirt even) Once I had a shower I felt really great!
Scorching hot? Here in the UK it’s been a washout of a summer, and pretty cool most of the time. The first decent summer’s day was today.
chill under a tree and drink coconut water ! auuu yeaah
It reaches the highest temperature, turn on air conditioner for 4-6 hrs, stay at home, reading books or have some games:) Or go swimming, stay in bathtub with water to take away the heat.
I’m stressed in every way possiable. Yes I live in the swamps of louisiana. I never could remember times it has been rough as it is now. I may sound lazy but I have basically traded in the day for the night. My life couldn’t be out of wack any worst than now. I quit smoking in my home so guess what this tells how bad a become to hate the heat I quit smoking.
yea ,its true im more of a ahole in the summer, i worked in construction for 10 yrs and i got in arguments in the summer all the time , but in the winter , we all got along much better, were in the midlands s.c so it gets very humid and hot here
I’m an older woman about to go to Turkey during the hot season, just bought two knee-length skirts to wear instead of pants. Will remember the sprinkler-bottle advice.
I keep it BY HANGING WITH COOL GUYS,
In Hot summer always took liquids and maintain your body.
So that’s why the people in florida are so damn unfriendly, it’s the damn heat.