How Uzbek sellers can easily tolerate the heat and work in the sun

Recently, climatologists have been talking about extreme manifestations of climate. Temperature records follow one after another, and we are increasingly faced with weather surprises, including unprecedented heat. How to cool down in the heat if there is no air conditioning nearby?





The answers can be prompted by residents of southern countries, where 40 in the shade is not so rare. But the tricky part is that unusual circumstances require unusual decisions, and our limited experience doesn’t always allow us to make them.

So it happened with the advice I want to talk about. The rational part of me understands that it probably works. But experience makes one question. Since childhood, I and everyone around me have done exactly the opposite.



But to the point. It so happened that on one of the recent exhaustingly hot days on the way from work, I drove to the market for tandoor cakes. There were almost no buyers in the bakery. And who is going to go shopping?

While waiting for my order, I asked an elderly saleswoman from Uzbekistan how she endured such heat, while managing to trouble herself at a hot stove, spread hot cakes over baskets, roll dough, and distract herself to customers.



The answer puzzled me: “I feel like it’s getting hot, I drink a couple of cups of hot green tea, and everything is fine!” I also tie my head tightly when I work in the sun.”

Hot tea or cold water? Like everyone else, I’ve watched The White Sun of the Desert a hundred times. And I know that the inhabitants of Central Asia prefer to drink hot tea on hot days, rather than chilled juices and compotes. But it’s all out there in the desert... And will it help me in the middle of a European metropolis?



A similar question in search of an effective remedy for the heat interested Canadian scientists from the University of Ottawa. It turns out that hot liquid does help fight overheating more effectively, but there are a few “buts.”

"Yes, a hot drink raises your temperature, but increased sweating (if sweat evaporates) more than compensates for the rise in temperature caused by fluid intake," says study author Ollie Jay.



It is obvious (from the point of view of physics) that a hot drink makes us hotter, and a cold one makes us colder. So why drink hot on a hot day? The answer lies in the work of receptors located in the mouth.

When we drink something hot, the receptors send a signal to the brain: “It’s hot here.” And the brain, in turn, triggers the mechanism that should cool us down: sweating.



Cold drinks have the opposite effect. At first, they slightly reduce body temperature. But their volume in the scale of the body is small, and therefore the decrease is very small. At the same time, according to the signal of the receptors, sweating is reduced, and this can negate the entire cooling effect.

“To be kind, I must be cruel,” Hamlet told his mother. So with hot tea: in order for sweating to bring the desired coolness as a result, you must first become hotter.



At the same time, fluid is lost, and its balance must be replenished. One cup of tea may not be enough. But there's good news. Dizziness and weakness in the heat are often associated with loss of salt. And tea, unlike plain water, does not actively remove them from the body.

And one more thing. For hot tea to help cool, sweat from the surface of the skin must be able to evaporate unimpeded. This can prevent, for example, high humidity. Or dense synthetic clothing that makes it difficult for air to reach the skin.

In short, in some cases, hot drinks really cool better than cold ones. But you need to be ready for heavy sweating and do not forget to drink more often to avoid dehydration.

Skeptical children of the twenty-first century, we would rather believe our own experience than science or anyone else’s advice. I have to say I'm still a little skeptical about hot tea on a hot day. I would rather drink a high glass of ice mojito. What about you?