I’m fairly sure that I live my life chronically dehydrated. Between all the coffee and tea that I drink, along with the adult beverages I consume, coupled with my general inability to remember to drink water throughout the day, it seems apparent that I’m not keeping enough moisture in my body. I often feel sluggish and hungry as a result, and my skin and lips can get dry fairly easily. That’s why summer time is so difficult for me and I struggle to stay healthy during the entire season. Because it gets so hot and humid outdoors, there is no choice except to rely on lots of powerful air conditioning to keep cool indoors. We operate our central cooling system nearly every day, and the season easily lasts half the year. During this time the air conditioning is providing unmatched relief from the misery outside, but causes a whole new set of problems indoors by removing so much moisture from the air. The dehumidified indoor environment that AC creates is both a blessing and a curse, because it feels amazing in the short term, but causes me to be even more dehydrated in the long run. The dry air sucks moisture out from my hair, skin, and nails, and I am constantly moisturizing. The cool air also tends to give me headaches and respiratory problems if I’m not getting enough relief from the natural outdoor air. Long story short, there is no winning in the battle against summer air. It feels like a lose-lose when you’re fighting heat and humidity with cold and dryness.
