Summer is a great time for cold drinks and the beach! But a huge amount of time is also spent in the house. Which in some cases with no air conditioning can be considered hellish. Here’s a few tips to keep your house (and your head) cool during the summer without spending too much.

1. Keep a fan in areas with the most activity. This includes activities like cooking, watching TV, and even sleeping. Even when the fan is switched on low, the breeze from the fan actually does a lot to keep you cool.

2. Ice. Some Mexican households back in the eighties used to stock a block of ice in their living rooms when it got hot. You can do this too! Place a bunch of ice cubes in a pitcher or two and place it in front of the fan to simulate the feeling of air conditioning minus the cost.

3. Change your sheets. Feeling hot isn’t just a physical state – a great deal of it is emotional, too. Getting rid of the things that make you “feel” hot even if they are not can help a lot. For starters, change your sheets to cooler (thinner) fabrics that are coloured white or baby blue.

4. Shower smart. Taking a shower to cool down is obvious. But you also have to take note of what you use in the shower. A lot of shampoo and soap/body wash products have cooling features added to them. Shower products that aim to moisturize (like moisturizing soap) are things you may want to avoid during this time as may give you that sticky feeling.

5. Exercise. Shedding those extra winter kilos will not only help you look good at the beach but will also help you stay cooler during the summer months.

6. Get yourself occupied with a hobby. A great deal of the feeling of being hot has to do with the fact that you are bored. Do something that isn’t too easy as well so you keep yourself distracted from the heat.

7. Serve/eat good food. This is connected to that whole body fat tip above. Some kinds of food help your body regulate heat better. Keep away from the deep fried things for a while and try healthier options like fruits and nuts.

8. Drink a lot of water. This is probably the piece of advice that doctors throw at people most often, and is also the piece of advice people often ignore too. But drinking enough water a day (approximately 8 glasses) helps your body regulate heat way better than you think.