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Inoculate yourself against high heat

If you visit Morocco in summer, you may find many things: riads with massive, ornate doors and no windows; avenues lined with date palms; and mint-steeped hot black tea, sweetened and served in a gold-rimmed glass; but you will not find much air-conditioning, even when daytime highs average around 98° from June to August.

One might assume Moroccans are somehow more heat-tolerant than those of us who live farther from the equator. Probably.  Acclimation (acclimatization) occurs in athletes, who, if they purposefully expose themselves to increasing increments of heat and activity, become heat-tolerant within two weeks.  They then run miles in temperatures that make the rest of us want to run for cover (if we only could run in the heat)!

Not being athletes, our household has still acclimated to up to 85° heat indoors over a two-week period. It has left us slimmer, more comfortable outside, and wealthier. We are wondering if it will work for others, so if you try it, please share your results with other readers in the comment section.

Part A: Mindset

As you prepare to live as your ancestors did in the 20th Century before the arrival of central air-conditioning, your imagination can play a leading role. Imagine a few “alternate facts.”

1) You are no longer a desk-jockey working from home; you are the captain of an important sailing vessel, harnessing the winds for your successful passage.
2) Your lodging no longer boasts a shower/bath. No, it offers access to a private quarry filled with fresh cold water, cooled a long while in the deep delved earth, available on demand.
3) You can perspire without fearing death. Since research suggests that it really is a good idea to ensure that a home thermostat never be set more than 10° lower than the temperature outside, when the weather goes high, you go high, too. Those people who think 80° indoor temperatures might be fatal are the delusional ones; not you.
4) You inoculate yourself by using warmth to conquer heat. I.E. If hot indoors, try going outside for a walk, then retiring to your private rain spa.

Part B: Tools

1) Curtains/blinds. These must be drawn on the side of the home on which the sun is shining.
2) Screened windows and doors. These should be open on the sides of the home where the sun is not currently shining.
3) Ceiling fans. It is important to make sure that the blades are aiming the cool air down. Some fans need adjustment between winter and summer settings.
4) Greenery. If you do not have any trees or shrubs around your house, you might not have enough shade to be able to keep inside temperatures down.
5) Ice cream/fruit juice/cool wine/bitters added to cold water.

Part C: Saving the planet

1) We start our  “heat inoculation” on non-work nights. Then it does not matter as much if one sleeps fitfully, and if it’s truly uncomfortably and irritatingly warm, you can cool off with a bowl of ice cream or glass of cold water with bitters at nightfall.
2) Insist on spending at least part of days off at a park. If there’s no park, nearby school grounds where one may stroll or even sit and work should do. The important thing is to experience natural breezes, sounds, and temperatures, every day, if possible.
3) If you feel like eating and drinking differently, you probably should. Our bodies need fewer calories when it is hot because we burn fewer calories keeping warm. Fruits and vegetables in abundance make it easy and delicious to indulge a capricious appetite.
4) Keep a sturdy mug of ice water beside your bed at night.

Benefits:

This July, this household has lost weight (bitters in cold water replaced alcohol); seen the planet Jupiter rising, with Venus hovering in the southeast; enjoyed morning breezes rolling off the feet of distant mountains; visited a waterfall on a daily basis, and spent 50% less on energy than the apartment downstairs. Give three good reasons why every North American household should not do the same!