Editor’s Note: Better than working?
Our new research has found Territorians have become more likely to die from heat over the last 40 years, even as cooling has become more widely available.
Why? If people spend all day in air conditioning set at 21℃, not only are they living more socially isolated and less active lives, but their bodies may not acclimatise to the heat - and that can make them more vulnerable when they do emerge into a steamy wet season afternoon.
An even more interesting finding is that the Northern Territory’s First Nations people are no more vulnerable to heat despite higher burdens of chronic disease, extreme poverty and very poor housing conditions for most.
It takes us around 15 days to acclimatise to a new heat regime.
In the heat, you have a nap - that’s the only thing you can do, in the shade.
I found this article’s headline focus on an afternoon nap as the “solution” to coping with high heat a bit disapointing. That was really one minor aspect of multiple things suggested. The necessity to build climate appropriate housing is a major factor, and it is not having a nap that protects against heat, it is not working an being active during the hottest part of the day - something that would require workplaces as well as individuals to make changes to social practices to allow. It’s not like you can have a 30 minute nap on your lunch break and power through work for the rest of the afternoon.
The part I found particularly interesting is the benefits of acclimatising to temperatures, although I suspect this is actually more important in seasonal Temperate areas than in Darwin which they are talking about. It’s not something individuals can always control when they work in climate controlled shops and offices, but I have found that making a conscious decision to get used to changing temperatures in both summer and winter rather than going straight for heating/cooling both saves energy and increases overall comfort levels over time.
