While you should make every effort to feel healthy year-round, certain aspects of summer require special health-keeping measures. So, with summer just around the corner, you should ask yourself: are you feeling as healthy as you could be?
To begin, we all know that the sun’s UVB rays – the rays that are responsible for sunburns and tans – strengthen over the summer. So, while it’s important to protect your skin year-round due to UVA rays – the rays than can cause skin cancer – using a higher SPF sun cream over the summer can help prevent further skin damage.
However, if you’re really yearning for that golden tan, use a tanning lotion or self-tanning spray. Whether you apply these products yourself or have them applied professionally by tanning salons, you’ll be doing your skin a favour by sparing it burns, wrinkles, and possible skin cancer. There are also a number of tanning lotions on the market that give you a believable tan, without the orange streaks – so no one has to know its fake!
Another aspect of the summer sun is that it’s very drying – not only to your skin, but to your hair and body in general. While many people don’t think it’s necessary to use a skin moisturizer in the summer, it’s a good idea to apply a light one under your sun cream. As well as helping your sun cream soak in, a skin moisturizer will help offset any drying effects of the sun.
Similarly, you’ll want to use hair conditioner on your hair to help reverse the drying affects of the sun. If you feel your hair gets oily during the summer due to the heat, apply hair conditioner only on the ends where it tends to get the driest. Hair conditioner is also particularly important if you use a blow-dryer or straightening iron to style your hair. Along with the sun’s damaging effects, heat styling can take the lustre out of your hair.
Just as your skin and hair can dry out during the summer, so can your body. As the heat rises outside, your body is prone to sweat more – which means you’re likely to become dehydrated if you don’t drink enough water. A good way to ensure you’re drinking enough water – about eight glasses each day – is to keep a measured bottle with you at all times. So, if your bottle holds about 4 glasses of water, you know that you should drink at least two full bottles over the course of the day.
Another way to enjoy a healthy lifestyle this summer is to get more exercise outside. Most of us tend to spend the cold winter months indoors, not getting much exercise. But as the weather starts to warm up, it’s worth taking advantage of outdoor activities. Whether you enjoy walking, running, hill climbing or swimming, summer is the ideal time to experience the outdoors.
Still, it’s important to remember that even in taking steps to get healthy this summer, it’s still possible to fall ill or to get hurt. So, along with the various health measures mentioned, it’s always wise to have a comprehensive health insurance policy in place.
Ensuring you’re protected if anything should go wrong with your health will add an important finishing touch to your health regime this summer.
