How to cope in a heatwave - according to you

Image source, Annie Smith/Jess JepsonByGrace DeanPublished6 minutes agoAs the UK swelters through some of its hottest June nights on record, people have been looking for more creative ways to stay cool. While some told BBC News they are happy to stick with tried-and-tested methods such as keeping blackout curtains shut all day, others are turning to slightly more unorthodox methods to get a small reprieve from the stifling heat. So, here are your DIY hacks to coping in a heatwave. Bethan Earley, from Rugby, tries to keep her home cool by putting foil blankets on the outside of her windows before closing them. "The house does still get warm," she told BBC Your Voice, "but it takes much longer to warm up." John Turbefield, 38, from Chichester, says he has placed white bed sheets on the outside of the windows in some of the hottest rooms in his house. Over the weekend he bought a pack of survival blankets - often used to help athletes regulate their body temperature - and placed them on the remaining windows. "They're designed to reflect heat and they are large, so they're ideal for taping to the window frame to reflect most of the light back out," he says. John says he has also stocked his freezer with two-litre plastic bottles of water, which he places in front of and behind the five fans he has set up around his house. However, he says anyone who wants to copy him will need patience: large bottles may take a couple of days to freeze, he adds. Image source, John TurbefieldImage caption, John says he's stocked his freezer with two-litre plastic bottles of water, which he places near the five fans he has around his house The UK Health Security Agency advises people to only open their windows when the air feels cooler outside than inside - and to turn off non-essential electronics that can generate heat, such as TVs, laptops and chargers. Stephanie Reed, 39, from Chorley, says it's important for her to stay cool because extreme heat triggers her epilepsy. At night, she now wets a hand towel and lays it across the end of her bed. She then sleeps with her feet and ankles on it. "It helps to regulate body temperature and it does stay cool all night," she says. Image source, Stephanie ReedImage caption, Stephanie Reed, 39, says extreme heat triggers her epilepsy so it's important to stay cool Stephanie says she has also started sprinkling her seven-year-old daughter's bed sheet with water and putting it in the freezer for about half an hour before bedtime - long enough for it to be cool for falling asleep on, but not long enough for it to actually freeze. Gordon Cooper, 73, from High Wycombe, told BBC Your Voice that he hangs a wet bath towel in his bedroom and places his fan nearby to help cool down the room. Others have been changing where they sleep to escape the stifling heat. During the last heatwave, Anabelle Holschuh, 30, found it so hard to sleep in her attic bedroom that she picked up a blanket and cushion and slept on the floor in the hallway. This time round, Anabelle, who lives in London, is sleeping on her living room sofa, which is north-facing and in a room with tall ceilings and an electric fan. "Last night I slept fairly well on the sofa, so no need to wander further downstairs to the hallway," she says. For Aimee Ludgate, 29, from Bradford, using an oven or hob in this heat is a no-go. Instead, she's been making as many meals as possible using her air fryer. She says she's even boiled eggs and cooked steak in it. She also freezes a big bottle of water overnight that she can take to work the next day. Image source, Aimee LudgateImage caption, To avoid switching on the oven, Aimee has been using her air fryer to boil eggs and cook steak Dietitian Kate Hilton says she's drinking more iced water and eating cool, hydrating foods like cucumber, tomatoes, melon and frozen smoothies. Other fruits that can help hydrate you are berries, peaches and citrus fruits, she says. For kids who are fussy eaters, freezing fruit juice or smoothies into ice pops can be a good way to help keep them cool. She says both caffeine and especially alcohol can have dehydrating effects, and recommends drinking alcohol in moderation during hot weather and alternating it with non-alcoholic drinks. "Water is generally the best thing to drink, but remember that all fluids, other than alcohol, are considered hydrating, so if you prefer sugar-free squash or other flavourings, this does still count towards hydration," she says. Some people have been changing their working-from-home set-up to try and keep cool. Oren Brown, 27, usually works in a dedicated office room but says his terraced house in County Durham is "horribly stifling upstairs". So he and his partner have started working downstairs instead, which is cooler. Gillian Cooley has set up her office in her bedroom as she says it's the coolest room in her house, near Peterborough. She owns a small business and now works on her laptop in the evening inst

How to cope in a heatwave - according to you

Key takeaways

More in top