So what are the best ways to keep cool this summer?
Hydration
Drinking lots of water is a necessity in the summer. If you're sweating, you'll need to keep regularly topped up on fluids in order to avoid dehydration.
Iced water is particularly refreshing during the summer and fruit juice is good too, especially as the sugars will give you a bit of an energy boost in the sapping sunshine.
It can be tempting to spend a day in the local pub's beer garden when the sun is out, but remember alcohol will not keep you hydrated, so as lovely as a cold pint is on a summer's day, make sure you have to odd water or soft drink and don't overdo it.
Prepare your home
If you are not lucky enough to have air conditioning at home, the summer months can be a bit of an ordeal as you try various new tactics to keep cool. Throwing open all the windows as far as they go is a good start, but unless there is a breeze in the air this isn't likely to make a difference.
Make sure you've traded down your duvet to a thinner one with a lower tog rating, as otherwise sleep may be hard to come by on warm nights.
Fans are a godsend during the summer months and it is worth investing in some really high quality ones, as the cheaper ones will often only push warm air around the room and won't provide any benefit. You'll also find the more expensive models are a bit quieter, which can be important if you want to keep them running during the night.
Clothing
Most people have summer and winter clothes, but they do not necessarily put a lot of thoughts into what items go into each category. As a result, it can be difficult to know what the best things to wear are when it comes to the summer.
Plenty of individuals like to flash the flesh in the sun and for some mysterious reason some men love to walk the streets with their tops off as soon as there is any hint of sunshine. This won't necessarily help keep you cool, however.
The best clothing to wear in the summer is light, breathable material such as cotton, as this will be the most comfortable when the temperatures really start to get unbearable. Wear light colours, as dark ones absorb heat. Anyone who has made the mistake of wearing black jeans on a hot day will not be keep to repeat it.
As well as the above tips, it's vital to keep skin protected when out in the sun. Fair-skinned individuals should slather on as high a factor sun cream as they can get, but others cannot afford to be complacent either.
© Axonn 2015