Sleep better, drink and cool down: 5 tips to combat the summer heat
29.5.2026
Translation: machine translated
Drink a lot, move little, wear airy clothes: When it gets really hot again, we immediately look to cool down. Find out here how you can make the summer heat more bearable and keep your body healthy with a few clever tricks.
As soon as the thermometer climbs above thirty degrees, your system comes under stress. Your body expands the veins and pumps masses of blood into the skin vessels to release the heat into the air and prevent overheating. This is vital for survival, but there is a catch. Due to the redistribution, your brain and internal organs lack oxygen and energy. You feel sluggish, tired and exhausted. As if exhausted by the heat.
You will already be familiar with the usual advice to combat this heat exhaustion: drink plenty of fluids, avoid the sun, darken your home, wear light clothing and reduce your physical exertion. But if you don't want to hole yourself up in the dark basement, exhausted and motionless, until summer is over again, these five tips will help you to effectively regulate your internal air conditioning.
1. bitter instead of sweet
If you treat yourself to a cool soda to cool down in hot weather, your body has a problem: your metabolism is already working at full speed in the heat. If it now has to use additional energy to digest sugar, it produces even more internal heat. Instead, opt for bitter alternatives such as cold green tea or sugar-free tonic water. As bitter substances stimulate the flow of saliva, they can pleasantly dampen the feeling of thirst. In addition, bitter plant substances (also found in salads such as radicchio) or the quinine in tonic water relieve the liver. If you prefer water, still water beats sparkling water because the carbon dioxide sometimes puts additional strain on the stomach in hot weather.
Soft drinks
Quantity discount
CHF8.90 per piece for 2 units CHF11.13/1l
Le Tribute Tonic Water Zero
4 x 20 cl
2. the evening magnesium bath
A foot bath before going to bed helps to release excess heat. Even if you crave the cold, the water should never be icy, but lukewarm. This allows the blood vessels to dilate and release the heat through the feet. So far, so familiar. The bath is made particularly effective by a crucial addition: magnesium flakes. These are pure magnesium chloride flakes made from natural salt deposits that dissolve immediately in the water. Some studies suggest that magnesium can calm the nervous system and relieve muscular tension. Your whole body shuts down more easily and you can fall asleep more quickly on tropical nights.
Bath salts + Bubble baths
Quantity discount
CHF9.95 per piece for 4 units
Zechstein Magnesium
Bath pearls, 500 g
3. menthol for the cold receptors
If you are looking for quick refreshment on hot days, peppermint oil is one of the most effective helpers. The oil cools you down in a very elegant physiological way. The menthol it contains docks onto the TRPM8 cold receptors of the skin and signals a noticeable drop in temperature to the brain. Ice-cold drinks, on the other hand, lower the temperature in the body's core and force the system to immediately produce its own heat. Menthol only produces the cold sensation on the outside of the skin. This keeps your circulation calm and your body doesn't have to counteract it.
For the ultimate freshness experience, mix a few drops of pure peppermint oil with water in a small spray bottle. After shaking briefly, a few spritzes on your pulse, neck or temples is all you need. You can also add some oil to your body lotion and apply it to your legs after showering.
4. the hot water bottle in the freezer
Have you already put your hot water bottle away with your winter clothes? Then quickly pull it out of the cupboard and use it as a cool bottle. Fill it halfway with cold tap water and put it in the freezer for two hours. In the evening, wrap it in a towel and take it to bed with you. It gives off a gentle coolness for many hours. The thick material reliably protects your skin from the cold damage that can occur with plastic ice packs.
Hot-water bottles
CHF31.60
Fashy Hot water bottle 2l fleece cover mage Stick
2 l, Bed flask with cover
Hot-water bottles
Quantity discount
CHF14.20 per piece for 2 units
Sänger Single slats
2 l, Bed flask without cover
5. cooling through breathing
You can also simply breathe yourself cool. Sitali breathing from Ayurveda uses simple physics to cool you down. You roll your tongue into a small tube and suck in the air you breathe in with a hiss. If you are genetically unable to roll your tongue, simply place the tip of your tongue behind your upper incisors. The incoming air passes over the moist saliva and cools down before it reaches the lungs. This refreshes the throat and can noticeably calm the body.
You can safely leave the darkened cellar empty. If you control your internal air conditioning yourself with a few physiological tricks, you take the stress out of the whole system. Your circulation works more smoothly, you can think more clearly and the sluggish exhaustion gives way to a pleasant summer feeling.
Anna Sandner
Senior Editor
Anna.Sandner@galaxus.deScience editor and biologist. I love animals and am fascinated by plants, their abilities and everything you can do with them. That's why my favourite place is always the outdoors - somewhere in nature, preferably in my wild garden.
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