Beat the Heat

How to stay cool when temperatures soar

- BY Beth Weinhouse

MAYBE YOU'RE ONE of those people who peels off a sweater when everyone else is complaining that it's chilly. Or maybe you're the person who's putting on a sweater when others say it's too hot. The point is, there's no single temperature that can be pinpointed as comfortable for everyone.

“What temperature people start to become uncomfortable at is really individual and variable,” says S. Tony Wolf, PhD, assistant professor in the department of kinesiology at the University of Georgia. In fact, our perception of heat and cold doesn't just depend on the temperature, but also on things like humidity and air flow. Plus, combinations of factors unique to individuals— age, gender, body mass, medical conditions and medications—affect how we experience temperature.

Over time, people can acclimate to higher (or lower) temperatures. Those of us who live in areas where the seasons change can become more comfortable in the heat by the end of the summer than we were in the beginning.