Heat wave in Europe. Maximum temperatures of up to 47 degrees are expected in Spain, and Sicily has held the record since 2021 with 48.8 degrees. The high temperatures put the human organism to a hard test. Also in Germany. This goes so far that the medical officers in this country are demanding the introduction of a siesta in Germany based on the southern European model.
“When it’s hot, we should be guided by the way southern countries work: getting up early, working productively in the morning and taking a siesta at noon is a concept that we should adopt in the summer months,” said the chairman of the Federal Association of Physicians in the Public Health Service ( BVÖGD), Johannes Nießen, the newspapers of the editorial network Germany. “People are not as efficient as usual when it’s very hot,” Nießen continued. “Poor sleep without cooling down at night also leads to concentration problems.”
What happens in the body when it is hot and what measures protect:
As temperatures rise, the human body tries to keep its temperature stable at around 37 degrees. To do this, it activates various mechanisms such as the widening of the blood vessels in the skin and sweating. The widening of the blood vessels releases heat on the body surface. Sweat helps cool the skin through evaporative cooling.
It can happen that the mechanisms for thermoregulation are overloaded. Symptoms such as exhaustion, headaches, insomnia or fever then appear. Sometimes such complaints are symptoms of more serious health problems. These include sunstroke from staying in the sun for too long or dehydration, where excessive fluid is removed from the tissues.
The most dangerous is heat stroke, which can even lead to death. This is dangerous overheating, in which the body temperature rises to over 40 degrees.
The heat is particularly dangerous for adolescents, especially children under the age of five. The chronically ill are also at higher risk because their bodies cannot adapt well to extreme conditions.
Another risk group are the elderly. With age, the number of sweat glands in the skin decreases, so older people are less able to compensate for heat by sweating.
During heat waves, sweat glands are constantly stimulated to produce sweat. After a few days, however, the sweat glands dry up for the time being, and as a result sweat production decreases. This increases the core body temperature. This is exacerbated by the fact that heat stress increases energy requirements and exceeds the capacity of an elderly person.
Some people are also more at risk because of their living conditions. Heat stress is greater in densely populated cities than in the countryside, particularly in poorly insulated buildings or penthouses. In addition, there is sometimes air pollution in addition to the heat in big cities.
People who work outdoors, such as construction workers, are also badly affected by the heat. And the homeless suffer particularly badly because they often don’t have a cool place to retreat to.
When the outside temperatures are high, it is important to drink a lot and stay in cool rooms as much as possible. In particular, health authorities warn against leaving the house during the particularly hot midday hours. They advise keeping the apartment cool by darkening it. If the ceiling falls on your head at home, you should look for a change in air-conditioned rooms such as museums, libraries, cinemas or shopping centers. Physical exertion or even sport outdoors is not recommended.
Health experts also advise drinking regularly, and not just when you feel thirsty. Alcohol consumption is not recommended in heat. However, care should be taken to eat enough.
Older people are advised to regularly check in with loved ones and not hesitate to ask others for help.
