So I don’t live in the Sahara, but the American Southwest can reach triple digit temperatures that can cook your brain just the same. For years, we lived in an older home built before houses were wired for air-conditioning. After suffering in the heat, we installed a window air-conditioning unit that cooled only one small room; and the kids and I huddled in that room as though our lives depended upon it! It sucked a lot of electricity and we couldn’t use the microwave oven while the air-conditioner was running. When we forgot and zapped a meal, the electricity box would trip, shutting everything down.

We escaped to the mall, theaters, coffee shops and the beaches to cool down. A small plastic pool in the backyard provided wet relief until our dog popped it. By the end of the day, I was grumpy at my husband who was able to drive around in an air-conditioned car and work in air-conditioned buildings. But I got inspired. And, if you find yourself in a hot spot, here are some ways to cool down quick:

1. Shade the windows. Usual window coverings might be decorative, but go for heat resistance and light reflection!
2. Hold off on having trees trimmed until after the heat of summer. Trees absorb and reflect a lot of the sun’s radiant heat.
3. Take brief, cool showers—often. This lowers your body temperature immediately. You’ll feel refreshed as the water absorbs the heat from your body and sends it down the drain. When you get out, stand in front of a fan.
4. Sip cool but not cold drinks. Icy drinks feel good but when your internal temperature drops below homeostasis then your body will heat up to reach normal body temperature. Enjoy ice but not frigid drinks.
5. Do as the Japanese do by sipping hot tea. It might sound strange, but when your internal body temperature rises, your body mechanisms begin to do what it can to lower your body temperature back to normal.
6. Avoid heavy meals. Instead eat foods with high water content such as fruit and vegetables, especially watermelon. The digestion process increases body heat.
7. Wear light cotton clothing to reflect the sun and to allow air to circulate around your body.
8. Move slowly. Don’t attempt to do heavy manual labor in sweltering temperatures.
9. Wet hand towels and place them in a plastic, zip-top bag and freeze them. Take them out to use on your head and neck where a lot of body heat collects.
10. Place a tub of ice in front of a fan for a poor man’s air-conditioner.
11. Keep well hydrated with fresh water. Avoid caffeine and sodas that dehydrate the body.
12. Install ceiling fans, if you can. They cool room temperatures by as much as seven degrees.
13. Erect an awning or screen for the porch or patio.
14. Keep a lot of live plants, preferably small trees, around the perimeter of the house to shield the walls from heat.
15. Reflective tinting material on windows keeps heat from coming in.
16. Remember that desktops, televisions and even cell phone and Ipods emit a lot of heat. Reduce usage as much as possible during a heat wave.
17. Patio misters bring down temperatures quickly.
18. Mist yourself with a water spritzer to keep your skin hydrated and draw heat out of your body.

Keeping cool is not just for comfort, but for health. Heat is the number one weather-related killer in the United States, according to the National Weather Service.