With many parts of the country regularly logging over 90 degrees, dreams of leisurely outdoor walks, family flag football games in the yard, or swimming in a pristine lake as the cool air swirls have given way to the realization that it’s just too hot to go outside.
As climate change brings hotter summers to greater swaths of the United States, people need to alter their longstanding routines to keep themselves healthy, says Elizabeth Gardner, a sports medicine physician at Yale Medicine. Fortunately, avoiding too many hours splayed on the couch, screen in hand, can be accomplished by every member of the family.
In effect, many of us are now spending summers living like vampires, says journalist Jeff Goodell—whose latest book, The Heat Will Kill You First, documents the severe health effects from our warming climate. We might leave our air-conditioned homes for outdoor exercise early in the morning or at night, but we are huddled inside all the hours in between.
It takes a bit of planning to make your “vampire summer” a healthy one. Experts say it likely involves some tweaks in how you move, eat, and think.
Work the joints, not just muscles
Elevated temperatures are only one reason vigorous outdoor exercise can be dangerous in summer. Other factors that contribute to health problems include high humidity, increased nighttime temperatures, the duration of the heat wave, and whether the thermometer is higher than normal for the geographic area.
Exercising outside under these conditions can lead to dehydration and muscle cramps; continuing to work out may push the body beyond its natural cooling capacity, causing the heat stroke that kills up to 65 percent of people who reach the state.
(Extreme heat can be deadly – here’s how to know if you’re at risk.)
If you’re an early riser, you can get in a good outdoor workout before the weather becomes unbearable. That’s the approach Goodell takes, riding his bicycle or going on long walks at dawn.
In places where the late afternoon or evening temperatures and humidity drop significantly, outdoor activities might safely be performed then. Contrary to popular belief that nighttime cardio interferes with the ability to fall asleep, people can generally exercise as late as one hour before bed with no effect on slumber.
Still, this leaves many hours in the day, some of which are best spent moving.
One good option for indoor exercise is to cross-train, says Gardner, who herself is an avid runner. Early each week Gardner checks her local forecast and notes when high temperatures will prohibit outdoor exercise; she then creates a comprehensive movement plan.
“Days when the weather is uninviting can be a really good opportunity to focus more on some complementary types of exercises that we may otherwise neglect,” Gardner says.
Chief among them: gentle movements that stretch and stabilize the joints, which is needed to prevent body pain and to minimize injury risk when doing more vigorous, muscle-building routines. Yoga, Pilates, and low-intensity workouts known as active recovery exercises are all versions of these movements; free classes are abundant on YouTube.
Those who want to also build muscle but don’t have weights at home can strengthen using their body weight—“an underappreciated form of resistance,” Gardner says. Body weight exercises offer their own advantage since they allow for more repetitions and a wider range of motion than when using heavy weights. When squatting without a barbell on the back, for example, the buttocks generally comes closer to the floor, engaging muscle fibers not otherwise used.
Other movements throughout the day need not be formal exercise routines. When home with kids, for instance, make a game out of movements such as by “skating” on wooden floors with slick socks, running around a parent-created obstacle course, or learning a new family-friendly dance routine on TikTok.
During other times of the day, it’s important to stand periodically. Sitting for long stretches increases systolic blood pressure among other cardiovascular risks.
Watch those snacks
Being home all day is a recipe for excess eating, especially when it comes to snacking. While snacks can be part of a healthy diet—contributing approximately 20 percent of an average American adult’s calories, according to a review last year—snacking has been linked to increased calorie intake and, when the foods are calorie dense, to weight gain.
Fruits, vegetables, nuts and seeds are some of the healthiest snack foods, although a study published in February found that snacking on protein rich chicken breasts led to better control of glucose levels later in the day than munching on nuts or apples.
The time of snacking also plays a role in food choices: people are more apt to reach for healthier snacks in the morning, while afternoon and evening snacks are often selected based on cravings or visual appeal, the review found.
The least healthy snacks are ultra-processed foods like chips, soda, packaged items, store-bought cookies, and the like, which are created in factories for flavor rather than nutrition and are generally high in sodium and sugar. Because they can be literally addictive for some people, it can be challenging to eat moderate portions if these items are kept in the home.
(Are ultra-processed foods as addictive as cigarettes?)
And while alcohol might seem like a good diversion when stuck at home, there is no healthy level of consumption. Alcohol can increase blood pressure, interfere with sleep, lead to cardiac arrhythmias, and exacerbate depression.
Shift your mindset: boredom is beneficial
Your grandmother probably called it cabin fever—that combination of irritability, anxiety, boredom, and even depression that sets in during forced confinement. The mental health issues suffered by many, especially adolescents, during the pandemic lockdown were largely a response to being cooped up at home.
Still, there are ways to keep your mood up when stuck inside. One technique psychologists recommend is called stress reappraisal, or shifting thoughts about stressful situations from negative to positive ones.
“You shift your perspective from a stress-is-debilitating mindset to a stress-is-facilitating mindset,” says Martin Hagger, a psychology professor at the University of California, Merced, who studies the method.
As Hagger advocated during the COVID pandemic and says applies to hot summers too, people who are forced to spend a lot of time inside can reframe the stressful experience to their advantage. “The first thing to do is acknowledge this situation is not something you can control; external forces are imposed on you,” Hagger says.
Then, pivot your thoughts to the beneficial activities you can now do that you wouldn’t have had the opportunity had the weather been nicer outside. This might include catching up on the books you’ve been meaning to read or engaging in fun, learning activities with family members.
Stress reappraisal is simple, but it takes practice to successfully make the mental shift. “Human nature is such that people have a generalized tendency to ruminate on the negatives of the current situation,” Hagger says.
One activity you should not increase is social media. A University of Pennsylvania study found that people randomly assigned to limit the major platforms to 30 minutes a day experienced less loneliness and depression than those who scrolled as much as they want.
It also helps to remind yourself that even the longest, doggiest days of summer eventually come to an end.
To thrive in a vampire lifestyle, “You just have to rearrange the rhythms of your life: out early and late; take advantage of cooler days,” Goodell says. And of course, eagerly “wait for fall.”
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