Hot weather making you feel sluggish? Instead of just slumping on the sofa and napping, here’s a few hacks to give you a cool boost…

1. Make whipped frozen lemonade

Can you think of anything that sounds more cooling than whipped frozen lemonade? We can’t! Tasty recipes showing how to make whipped frozen lemonade are popping up all over Instagram and TikTok. You could, of course, just blend some lemonade and ice cream together for a very quick version, but give one of the recipes a try and you’ll have a lovely glass of deliciousness in your very cool hands, in no time…

2. Rinse your wrists

A great way to reduce your body temperature is by simply rinsing your wrists under the cold tap,  suggests Patrick Ross, from Nectar Sleep. “Running cold water over your hands, wrists, and feet can lead to a cooler body temperature,” he advises. A sharp shot of cold water will definitely perk you up.

3. Stock up on cool plants

Certain plants can actually help keep you cooler. Weeping figs, snake plants, rubber plants, and Chinese evergreens can help absorb warm air. While through transpiration, they can release oxygen and cool moisture as a byproduct, helping cool the room a little.

4. Not just a fan – an icy fan!

If you’re lucky enough to have bought a fan before hot weather emptied the shop shelves, it will of course be invaluable for keeping you cool and holding lethargy at bay. But a useful tip to make your fan even more effective is to put a bowl  of ice in front of it as it blows – as the ice melts, your room, and you, will likely feel less hot and slow.

5. Chill pill(ow)

If hot weather’s affecting your sleep and making you tired during the day, keep cooler during the night by putting your sheets or pillowcases in the freezer just before you go to sleep.  Zip them into a sealed plastic bag beforehand so they don’t get wet from the ice, and then pop the bag in the freezer for around five minutes, advises Ross. “You’ll nod off in no time,” he promises.

6.  Cool eating habits

Your body produces heat to break down food, so if you eat smaller portions you may feel a bit cooler. And while it doesn’t need a rocket scientist to work out you need to stock the freezer with ice lollies and ice-cream, foods like lettuce, celery and cucumber have a high water content so eating plenty of them will keep you more hydrated in hot weather.

It’s also a cool idea to avoid eating much meat when it’s hot, as you could get ‘meat sweats’. These are a physical reaction, thermogenesis, to eating large quantities of protein-rich foods, caused by your body using extra energy to break the protein down.