Darrick Robles Who doesn’t know it: got up too quickly and everything is already spinning and your eyes go black. But especially in summer, many suffer from dizziness and even weakness or fainting spells without getting up quickly. You can find out here what high heat does to our bodies and what you can do to counteract circulatory problems.
Why the heat causes circulatory problems
As a result of the high temperatures, sluggish air movement and humidity in summer, our bodies can experience circulatory problems. The culprit is low blood pressure (hypotension) , which occurs when the blood vessels dilate sharply in the heat in order to be able to release the heat more easily. Dehydration can also lead to low blood pressure.
If your blood pressure suddenly drops too much, your brain can no longer be supplied with sufficient oxygen and as a result you suffer from dizziness or weakness, headaches, blurred vision and/or nausea . In the worst case, this can even lead to fainting .
An attack of dizziness is mainly caused by standing in the sun for a long time, staying in large crowds, and heavy physical exertion in the blazing sun.
What to do in case of acute circulatory disorders?
If you have not managed to cool down in time and notice dizziness, weakness or even a fainting spell, you can do the following:
- Lie down and put your legs up
- drink mineral water or fruit juice spritzer
- and only slowly get up again after subsequent improvement
Tips against circulatory problems in summer
However, so that the worst case does not have to happen, we have collected a few tips for you here with which you can avoid circulatory problems in summer:
1. Drink a lot As is so often the case, it is advisable to drink a lot, especially in hot temperatures. Your body loses more fluid than usual through sweating, which can lead to dehydration more quickly. To avoid this, however, you should drink plenty of mineral water or fruit juice spritzers and, if possible, avoid black tea, coffee and alcohol.
2. Put on cold wraps Moisten a few towels with cool water and wrap them around your calves. The cooling wraps help lower your body temperature to get your circulation going again. Additionally, sprinkling your face with cool water and running your wrists under cold, running water can help.
3. Alternating showers You keep your circulation really busy by alternating showers in the morning and evening – i.e. alternately showering with cold and warm water. The alternating shower ensures that heat is removed from your body and also strengthens your immune system.
4. Put your feet up Due to the dilated blood vessels in the heat, the blood circulates more poorly, which means that the brain and heart are undersupplied, especially when standing. It is therefore advisable to put your feet up in extreme heat and impending circulatory problems to let the blood flow back into your upper body.
5. Move in the evening or morning Heavy physical exertion should be avoided in the midday hours in summer. It is better to put the sports program in the morning. Evening walks are also good for stimulating circulation. In addition, exercise is healthy.
6. Avoid the blazing sun and air conditioning Anyone who is particularly sensitive to the weather and cannot cope well with the heat should definitely avoid the blazing sun. Find a cool, shady spot when you’re outdoors. However, what can also lead to circulatory problems is staying in heavily air-conditioned rooms, because the rapid temperature differences overwhelm your body.
