Extreme heat makes it especially hard for your body to cool down, so you need to be extra careful if you exercise or play sports when it’s baking outside.
Your brain tries to keep your body within a degree or two of 98.6 degrees Fahrenheit (37 degrees Celsius), and it does so in part by triggering sweat. When sweat dries, it carries away heat from your body’s surface.
When sweat can’t do its job — because your body is generating a lot of heat or it’s too hot and humid to cool down — you are at risk of becoming dehydrated or even getting a heat-related illness such as heat exhaustion or heat stroke.
The higher the temperature, the harder it is for the body to stay cool, but humidity plays a big role too. High humidity makes it feel hotter than the temperature because it makes sweating less effective. There’s so much water in the air already that it can’t take up much more — including the water in your sweat.
The heat index, which factors in humidity and is included on many weather forecasts, provides a sense of how hot it really feels — and what’s dangerous for prolonged exposure or strenuous activity.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration says people should start exercising “caution” when the heat index reaches 80 to 90 degrees and “extreme caution” from 90 to 103 degrees. It labels everything over 103 “danger” or “extreme danger.”
— Drink lots of fluids, and limit drinks that are high in sugar, caffeine and alcohol. Don’t wait until your are thirsty to drink more.
— Exercise with someone so you can check on each other, or pair up with a teammate.
If you start to feel any of these symptoms, stop exercising, get to a cool place and seek medical care:
It can develop into the more serious heat stroke, when your body can no longer control its temperature. Symptoms include confusion or slurred speech, seizures or even loss of consciousness.
The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Department of Science Education and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The AP is solely responsible for all content.
Content adapted by the team from the original source: https://abcnews.go.com/Health/wireStory/exercising-playing-sports-extreme-heat-extremely-dangerous-123158390
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