The Subtle Art of Being a Morning Person During a Heatwave

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I see news reports and articles that say “Don’t do sports during a heatwave”, which, to me is bad advice. It’s not bad advice to tell people not to push and overheat at the hottest point of the day. It is bad advice not to say “Try to run in the morning” and “Be sure to have water nearby to help cool your body” or even “make sure to run by a river, in a forest, where evapotranspiration is possible.

For the next five days they warn of temperatures of 32-33°c at the hottest time of the day but what they don’t encourage is looking at the reverse side of the day. The morning.

Mornings are a comfortable 19-20°c where I am. That’s a very comfortable temperature to run, cycle, and more in. It’s fresher than almost all urban and minergie buildings. That freshness means that you’ll actually benefit from cool, fresh air, whilst being active.

Meanwhile in many apartment, towns and cities, buildings, roads, and road signs are radiating heat which humans have to try to cope with. If we can flee the concrete and tarmac surfaces, then we can benefit from the cooling effect of lakes, rivers, forests, ponds and more.

Waking early also highlights another need. Proper sleeping conditions. I have not seen any advice encouraging for people to be quiet earlier in the night. I haven’t seen any advice recommending people to wake earlier, to head to work when it’s cooler, or do sports when it’s cooler.

As I write this post the top story on the RTS Info page is “People fleeing to Switzerland to flee the heat” but fleeing, with a machine that uses dinosaur soup adds to the problem of global warming. Trying to sleep early, to wake early to do sports early, to be done by the time the heat arrives is perfectly rational.

Just because we’re in a heat wave does not mean we should abandon healthy habits. We should simply shift them to a healthier time of day. That 5am run is rational. So is the 6am bike ride. The best way to cope with a heatwave is to become a morning person, to do things before it becomes too dangerous later in the day.

If I do cycle with a group, or run at a hotter time of the day I make sure to have water, and electrolyte tabs. I also expect to find fountains where I can drench myself. The aim is to hydrate, replace lost salts, and where possible to help my body cool itself. It’s amusing to get group ride and run photos, where everyone is standing around a fountain trying to cool down. I’ve seen people dip their heads under water, others soak the back of their necks and more. Fountains, during a heatwave are crucial, for cycling not to be too dangerous.

Yesterday, when we were running in the woods. I poured water from my water bottle over my back and neck, to cool myself faster. That’s when it’s good just to have water.

It’s easy for us to look in one direction and think “Oh, but the heat is unbearable, I’m going to take a break from all sports”. In rock climbing I often found that if we couldn’t find anywhere for our hands and fingers to hold, it was wise to look down at our feet.

The natural instinct is to look at a heatwave and think “I’m going to drive the car to somewhere cool and appreciate that freshness”. Without getting in the car, and without driving for an hour or two we can find freshness at home, by waking earlier.

it is worth remembering that there is a debate and question about why Europe doesn’t adopt air conditioning and the key reason is that the nights, and early mornings are still cool. With good ventilation habits we can cool our homes, but we can also do sports, whilst feeling cool.

We don’t need to waste energy for hours and hours to cool or to get from a hot place, to a cooler one. Travelling, in time, is enough. Waking at 4 or five to run at dawn guarantees that we run in fresher weather.