HEAT! How do I hate thee? Let me count the ways...
Ugh! We've had a real heat wave around here (San Jose/South Bay) the last few days, and it reminded me again of how and why I dislike really HOT weather! :( :O Anyone else?
Beds are burning
The WORST thing about hot weather is its effect on my ability to SLEEP! I seem to become more and more heat-intolerant with each passing year, although I manage during the day thanks to air conditioning at work and at home. But at night, when I'm trying to sleep, my intolerance gives me a very bad time. We obviously don't run the air conditioning 24/7, because our utility bill is high enough as it is! Plus the house starts to feel a bit stale if we never get any fresh air for a 24-hour period.
So, I have to make do with a wide-open window (thank goodness for being on the second story of the house) and a room fan, and I sleep in practically nothing, but I'm still uncomfortable. :( Not only do I find it hard to FALL asleep when the ambient temperature is too warm, but I also find it hard to REMAIN asleep, often waking up every few hours. I've heard that our body temperature drops as we sleep and is lowest the first thing in the morning. So maybe if my body temp. isn't able to drop sufficiently on warm nights, I'm not able to fall asleep properly? Sounds logical!
In the meantime, after almost a week of not getting enough sleep, I'm starting to feel like my brain is crumbling and falling out of my head! :( My short-term memory really takes a plunge when I'm sleep-deprived. Plus I'm just plain old tired. Actually, make that overtired!
Hot rats
I feel really bad for my little boys, Blueberry and Jellybean, when the weather is hot, because if I think *I* feel uncomfortable, I can only imagine how *they* feel, since they're covered in the equivalent of a miniature fur coat!! UGH!! You should see how they streeeeetch themselves out and stick their feet out in an effort to stay cool, and they NEVER snuggle with each other when they're hot. (I love how they look when snuggling!) Again, thank goodness for air conditioning! But still, they're always more warm than I am during hot weather, because of their fur. And during the day they're quite lethargic. Then again, rats are never as active during the day as they are at night. heh But still, I can tell that they're just not as "happy" as usual when they're too hot, poor things.
At night, during their funny & fun playtimes in my bathroom, they particularly enjoy "pea-fishing", because the cool water feels good to wade into, and the frozen peas taste refreshing. I think I'm going to start feeding them frozen bits of fruit during the day as well as pea-fishing at night. I also heard about a product called the Chin-Chiller, which is marketed toward chinchillas, who are severely heat-intolerant, but which any rodent would appreciate. Just put the granite in the fridge for 24 hours, take it out, put it in the cage of the rodent, and let them enjoy the long period of cooling provided by the cold stone. They can even sit or lay on it (awwwww!) I bet my boys will love that! Heck, while I'm at it, I should go to a hardware store and buy a GIANT slab for myself and put it under my bed! *wry smile* Actually, even for the rats, I may have to go to a hardware store or a store specializing in countertops and flooring, because the Chin-Chiller slab is 12 inches long and 6 inches wide, which is overkill for my rats and will cover too much of the bedding in their cage (chinnies are bigger than rats). So I may have to buy a custom-cut piece instead.
Heat + Eat = NOPE!
Another thing I don't like about hot weather is that it takes away most of my appetite. :( Most folks I talk to say it's the same with them; they just don't like eating as much food when it's hot out. However, that can lead to weight loss, and when your Body Mass Index (BMI) is only 18.8 like mine is -- underweight starts at 18.5 -- losing weight is NOT an option! :( I've actually been trying to gain some weight for years now, but it just ain't working. *blush* And yes, just for the record, I've had my thyroid function tested several times, and it always turns out in the normal range. Granted, the numbers are closer to the over-active side than the under-active side, but never even borderline! I've also had blood tests to see if I'm deficient in certain key vitamins and/or minerals that people become deficient in if they have various types of intestinal malabsorption disorders, but none of my levels are low. So, I guess I'm just genetically preprogrammed to be a lean, mean, calorie-burning machine! LOL
Speaking of health...
Yet ANOTHER thing I hate about the heat is that it makes me unable to take walks. The reason this is important is that despite being only 35, being slim, eating for the most part quite heathily, and not having a sedentary lifestyle, I have elevated cholesterol. :( It's not dangerously high, but it's higher than it should be, based on the above factors. Thankfully my triglycerides are startlingly LOW (*cheer*), but my HDL count should be higher, my LDL count should be lower, and my overall number should be lower too.
Again, nothing is "borderline" yet, and I want to keep it that way, so one thing I'm trying to do is incorporate more EXERCISE into my life. (I'm also eating certain things that are said to help lower cholesterol). One of the best types of exercise is brisk walking. :) I like to walk to and from a certain cool shopping center near my work almost every day, and I also like to walk in my townhouse complex. But in this heat, my heat intolerance makes me unable to take those walks without feeling miserable. And so, I don't walk, and I miss it. :(
Beds are burning
The WORST thing about hot weather is its effect on my ability to SLEEP! I seem to become more and more heat-intolerant with each passing year, although I manage during the day thanks to air conditioning at work and at home. But at night, when I'm trying to sleep, my intolerance gives me a very bad time. We obviously don't run the air conditioning 24/7, because our utility bill is high enough as it is! Plus the house starts to feel a bit stale if we never get any fresh air for a 24-hour period.
So, I have to make do with a wide-open window (thank goodness for being on the second story of the house) and a room fan, and I sleep in practically nothing, but I'm still uncomfortable. :( Not only do I find it hard to FALL asleep when the ambient temperature is too warm, but I also find it hard to REMAIN asleep, often waking up every few hours. I've heard that our body temperature drops as we sleep and is lowest the first thing in the morning. So maybe if my body temp. isn't able to drop sufficiently on warm nights, I'm not able to fall asleep properly? Sounds logical!
In the meantime, after almost a week of not getting enough sleep, I'm starting to feel like my brain is crumbling and falling out of my head! :( My short-term memory really takes a plunge when I'm sleep-deprived. Plus I'm just plain old tired. Actually, make that overtired!
Hot rats
I feel really bad for my little boys, Blueberry and Jellybean, when the weather is hot, because if I think *I* feel uncomfortable, I can only imagine how *they* feel, since they're covered in the equivalent of a miniature fur coat!! UGH!! You should see how they streeeeetch themselves out and stick their feet out in an effort to stay cool, and they NEVER snuggle with each other when they're hot. (I love how they look when snuggling!) Again, thank goodness for air conditioning! But still, they're always more warm than I am during hot weather, because of their fur. And during the day they're quite lethargic. Then again, rats are never as active during the day as they are at night. heh But still, I can tell that they're just not as "happy" as usual when they're too hot, poor things.
At night, during their funny & fun playtimes in my bathroom, they particularly enjoy "pea-fishing", because the cool water feels good to wade into, and the frozen peas taste refreshing. I think I'm going to start feeding them frozen bits of fruit during the day as well as pea-fishing at night. I also heard about a product called the Chin-Chiller, which is marketed toward chinchillas, who are severely heat-intolerant, but which any rodent would appreciate. Just put the granite in the fridge for 24 hours, take it out, put it in the cage of the rodent, and let them enjoy the long period of cooling provided by the cold stone. They can even sit or lay on it (awwwww!) I bet my boys will love that! Heck, while I'm at it, I should go to a hardware store and buy a GIANT slab for myself and put it under my bed! *wry smile* Actually, even for the rats, I may have to go to a hardware store or a store specializing in countertops and flooring, because the Chin-Chiller slab is 12 inches long and 6 inches wide, which is overkill for my rats and will cover too much of the bedding in their cage (chinnies are bigger than rats). So I may have to buy a custom-cut piece instead.
Heat + Eat = NOPE!
Another thing I don't like about hot weather is that it takes away most of my appetite. :( Most folks I talk to say it's the same with them; they just don't like eating as much food when it's hot out. However, that can lead to weight loss, and when your Body Mass Index (BMI) is only 18.8 like mine is -- underweight starts at 18.5 -- losing weight is NOT an option! :( I've actually been trying to gain some weight for years now, but it just ain't working. *blush* And yes, just for the record, I've had my thyroid function tested several times, and it always turns out in the normal range. Granted, the numbers are closer to the over-active side than the under-active side, but never even borderline! I've also had blood tests to see if I'm deficient in certain key vitamins and/or minerals that people become deficient in if they have various types of intestinal malabsorption disorders, but none of my levels are low. So, I guess I'm just genetically preprogrammed to be a lean, mean, calorie-burning machine! LOL
Speaking of health...
Yet ANOTHER thing I hate about the heat is that it makes me unable to take walks. The reason this is important is that despite being only 35, being slim, eating for the most part quite heathily, and not having a sedentary lifestyle, I have elevated cholesterol. :( It's not dangerously high, but it's higher than it should be, based on the above factors. Thankfully my triglycerides are startlingly LOW (*cheer*), but my HDL count should be higher, my LDL count should be lower, and my overall number should be lower too.
Again, nothing is "borderline" yet, and I want to keep it that way, so one thing I'm trying to do is incorporate more EXERCISE into my life. (I'm also eating certain things that are said to help lower cholesterol). One of the best types of exercise is brisk walking. :) I like to walk to and from a certain cool shopping center near my work almost every day, and I also like to walk in my townhouse complex. But in this heat, my heat intolerance makes me unable to take those walks without feeling miserable. And so, I don't walk, and I miss it. :(