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I am wondering how much air conditioning contributed to the longevity stats of various countries? We are accustomed to information on improved diet, medicine, sanitation - but even now we hear of people dying of heat in the US. There must have been many more in the past.
I don't know the answer or statistics, but I'm sure that many lives have been saved by air conditioners. I just heard a disturbing report on public radio about the number of children who die each year after being left in closed cars, mostly accidentally forgotten. Temperatures can rise to deadly levels in a very short time. The sad thing is - in some cases, a parent may feel he/she is just going to quickly run into a store for something and not understand how little time it takes for a child to die in a closed car. There have been cases also where a parent simply forgot they had the child with them... ugh! Horrible to think about.
Well, I don't know, but don't feel like finding out the hard way!
I used to keep the AC at 79 during the day, even though I was home most of the day. When the rest of the family came home, they would knock it down to 70.
Ok, I'm 59, have diabetes, high blood pressure, arthritis, and NO I'm not FAT!
I just decided I can't take living in a suana, and keep the AC at 72 all the time. Fortunately we moved into a smaller house so its not so expensive. I don't intend to slow-cook myself to death! BTW, I do feel better at the lower temp, so I figure I'm getting return for my money!
Well, I don't know, but don't feel like finding out the hard way!
I used to keep the AC at 79 during the day, even though I was home most of the day. When the rest of the family came home, they would knock it down to 70.
Ok, I'm 59, have diabetes, high blood pressure, arthritis, and NO I'm not FAT!
I just decided I can't take living in a suana, and keep the AC at 72 all the time. Fortunately we moved into a smaller house so its not so expensive. I don't intend to slow-cook myself to death! BTW, I do feel better at the lower temp, so I figure I'm getting return for my money!
Like you, I prefer a lower temperature but we can't afford to keep it anywhere near that low. We keep ours at 81 during the day and 79 at night and I live in Panama City, FL. Better than no air conditioning though, that's for sure. It's like 100 degrees in our garage.
I used to keep the AC at 79 during the day, even though I was home most of the day. When the rest of the family came home, they would knock it down to 70.
Ok, I'm 59, have diabetes, high blood pressure, arthritis, and NO I'm not FAT!
I just decided I can't take living in a suana, and keep the AC at 72 all the time. Fortunately we moved into a smaller house so its not so expensive. I don't intend to slow-cook myself to death! BTW, I do feel better at the lower temp, so I figure I'm getting return for my money!
I also have diabetes, high blood pressure, arthritis, and yes I'm FAT! In my youth living in Florida i never had a problem with the heat but i was always in good shape, now at 65 and totally out of shape i find any temps near 80 too hot, and i keep my A/C unit at 70, fortunately i moved to Canada where heat is short lived, although i'm not looking forward to my upcoming end of September trip back to Florida to see friends and family, its going to be unbearably hot and humid the whole time i'm there. At this point i doubt i could survive living in Fla without A/C
Maybe years back people were thinner and the heat did not affect them so badly.
I am older than most of you and as I age I stay out of the out of doors when the temperature and humidity are high.
I suspect that a lot of people, years before AC, died of heat related disorders, and maybe all those statistics about how much longer we are living these days are strongly affected by this factor.
I remember that huge heat wave that they had several years back in Europe. So many people died in France that the government equipped everyone with AC. They even rewired old buildings, free of charge, for people.
We keep ours at about 74 or 75 and open the windows at night, using the attic fan when the temp dips to 75.
Part of the ability to bear either heat or cold lies in what we are used to. So the ubiquity of air conditioning has made most of us less able to cope with the heat in a physiological sense. I am always surprised in these kinds of threads how cold people keep their houses/apartments. I keep my thermostat at 83 degrees Fahrenheit during the summer, but I would have to lower it if the humidity were high. I can get by with 83 because the humidity in Los Angeles is mostly rather low. Still, 70 seems insane to me. For one thing, I don't like the extreme contrast when I go out the front door. I am divorced and live alone, and one great advantage of that is I don't need to argue with anyone else about the temperature to keep the place at!
Once the bodies core temp gets up much around or over 102 degrees, you better be doing something fast.
If you don't have A/C in your home or auto....fill the bathtub with cool water and soak in it.
Cold shower will work too.
People die from that every year.
Usually elderly on blood thinners and (old age) who like to shut their A/C off when it's 95+ outside.
"I'm not hot, it's only 85 in here".
I'm sweating my arse off talking to you.
See this shirt?
It was dry when I started.
You're too warm too, it's just your system is screwed up.
Another little tip" if the body's core temperature rises---take 2 Tylenol. Tylenol helps reduce the body's temperature. I don't suggest one take Tylenol routinely in lieu of AC----just if an emergency, say if AC broke, body temperature spikes, that sort of thing.
Also, try soaking feet in cold/ice water. For just a few minutes!
Part of the ability to bear either heat or cold lies in what we are used to. So the ubiquity of air conditioning has made most of us less able to cope with the heat in a physiological sense. I am always surprised in these kinds of threads how cold people keep their houses/apartments. I keep my thermostat at 83 degrees Fahrenheit during the summer, but I would have to lower it if the humidity were high. I can get by with 83 because the humidity in Los Angeles is mostly rather low. Still, 70 seems insane to me. For one thing, I don't like the extreme contrast when I go out the front door. I am divorced and live alone, and one great advantage of that is I don't need to argue with anyone else about the temperature to keep the place at!
I was considering that as we age we adapt to changes in temperature more poorly. A lot of people, as they age, seem to favor the warmth and migrate to places like Florida. So far this has not been my experience. I like the indoors around 74 or 5 and my favorite outdoor range is 50 to 70.
When I was younger I really tried not to use the A/C, which was partly due to economic reasons, so it's not as though I spent my entire life in cooler temps. I just cannot make an adjustment to heat - and it does kill people, it's not psychological.
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