Your expert guide to surviving the ‘heatdome’ – from where to park to a 5-second pet safety test… and dealing with a tetchy partner

Most of us enjoy sunny weather but with rail lines buckling, schools closing and essential services failing, this is clearly no ordinary heatwave.

Today’s temperatures are expected to reach a record for June at 40C, with the Met Office issuing a ‘a risk to life for even the healthy population’ red warning – for only the second time ever in the UK – across parts of central and southern England and Wales.

It’s called a ‘heatdome’ because it’s driven by a dome of hot air moving north from the Sahara that then stays over the same area for days, trapping warm air under it.

And it can severely impact brain as well as body. ‘During periods of extreme heat, the body has to divert a lot of energy towards staying cool,’ explains Dr Laurence Wainwright, senior lecturer at the University of Oxford who researches the health implications of heatwaves. ‘As a result some of our higher order cognitive capacities – the ability to solve complex problems, critical thinking, working memory, concentration – don’t function as well as they should.

‘We tend to lose our temper more easily. And we might be slightly more impulsive.’

Crucially, says cognitive rehabilitation specialist Natalie Mackenzie, heat also prevents our ability to sleep. ‘Lose that across several nights and you are tired, emotionally running on empty, with significantly less capacity to manage frustration, stay patient or respond rather than react,’ she says.

By day three of a heatdome, which most of us have hit, she warns, ‘the wheels tend to come off in relationships and at work’.

Fortunately, there are steps we can take to preserve our sanity and stay safe…

Leave big decisions until the heat is over

It sounds obvious but try to stay indoors during the hottest part of the day, ‘which is typically mid to late afternoon’, says Dr Wainwright. If you need fresh air on your lunch break, stay in the shade and avoid walking long distances. Staying hydrated – there are no official NHS guidelines as to how much we should drink but a good sign is that your urine is pale yellow – can help.

‘Even mild dehydration amplifies stress reactivity and impairs the cognitive functions that help us stay regulated and patient,’ says Mackenzie, who recommends delaying decisions on work and relationship dilemmas where possible. ‘If there’s a cognitively demanding task you need to face, reschedule for a day when it will be cooler,’ she says. ‘The same goes for any difficult conversations you might need to have.’

Avoid takeaways – especially before bed

‘Fatty and sugary foods require your body to burn more calories which will make you feel hotter – and you need to lower your body temperature before sleep,’ says sleep expert Dr Neil Stanley.

‘Lighter meals such as salads and seafood will help keep your body temperature lower.’

Avoid eating too close to bedtime too, adds sleep scientist Dr Sophie Bostock: ‘In the summer, people often feel less hungry during the hot day, so we tend to push our meal times back. This in turn delays our circadian rhythm, and you’re actively metabolising and generating heat when you want to go to sleep.’

And steer clear of the scales

In bursts of hot weather your body can hold on to fluids that lead to several pounds weight gain, which is all water, temporary, and nothing to worry about.

Keep your dog safe with 5-second test

‘Heatwaves can be dangerous for pets because they have limited ways to cool themselves down,’ says Dr Angela Jones, vet and co-founder of pet prescription platform Petscribers. ‘Walk dogs early in the morning or later in the evening when temperatures are cooler. Most dogs will benefit from shorter, lower-intensity walks during hot weather.’

Some, such as flat-faced breeds, might be safest skipping their walk altogether.

Dogs’ paws can burn, she adds. ‘If you can’t comfortably hold the back of your hand on the pavement for five seconds, it’s too hot for your dog to walk on. Artificial grass, sand and decking can also become extremely hot.’

Keep fresh water constantly available for your pup. ‘You can add ice to keep it cold,’ says Jones who suggests dogs might enjoy frozen home-made stick lollies or frozen pieces of dog-safe fruit such as watermelon. Paddling pools can help regulate their body temperature too.

Of course, never leave your dog unattended in a parked car. ‘Temperatures inside a vehicle can become life-threatening within minutes.’ Signs of heatstroke in pets include excessive panting, drooling and vomiting.

If you suspect your dog has heatstroke move them to a cool, ventilated area, soak their body with cold or cool water, offer them water, then contact your vet.

…And don’t forget our feline friends

Cats can also become dehydrated ‘and suffer from heat-related illness,’ says Jones. Provide multiple sources of fresh water around the home for yours. ‘Cats allowed outdoors will often seek shade naturally,’ she says, ‘but owners should still monitor them closely during periods of extreme heat.’

Put bag of frozen peas in front of your fan

Position a fan so it creates a ‘current’ with an open window to help sweat evaporate, says Dr Stanley. ‘Placing a bag of frozen peas in front of your fan can make the air a bit cooler and reduce discomfort too. Most fans these days are quiet and there’s no need to spend hundreds.

‘But if you don’t ordinarily use one you might want to wear ear plugs to block out the noise.

‘It might also be worth opening the hatch door to your loft’, he says, ‘because hot air rises, so you’re essentially making a chimney that will hopefully suck the warm air up’.

If you must do some exercise, try yoga

There’s no shame in dialling down the intensity of your workouts this week, says sports medicine consultant Dr George Bownes, founder of sports clinic Citius Health. ‘Obviously don’t exercise at the hottest time of the day. If you’re running, go first thing in the morning or in the evening. It might be wise to swap your high intensity Hyrox for a walk or other less vigorous, lower impact activities.’

If you’re an avid exerciser, try seeing the next few days as a chance to do activities you might otherwise overlook that can help prevent injury. ‘Yoga and Pilates are great options that can be done in the shade or indoors.’

Park next to a lorry to keep your car cool

Tragically, two children were found dead in their family’s car in south-eastern France this week, with excessive heat ‘the leading line of inquiry’. To keep your car as cool as possible, open the windows for a minute or two before turning on the air conditioning, says Tom Preston, managing director at car hire company Hippo Leasing.

‘This allows trapped hot air to escape, helping your A/C cool the car more efficiently.’

For your first minute of driving, keep your windows open and air vents pointed to your feet, because ‘cool air pushes warm air up and out’, he adds.

Turn off ‘stop-start’ and ‘eco’ modes where possible, as they can reduce the efficiency of air conditioning and don’t point the air vents directly at your face. ‘It leads to poor air distribution around the car,’ says Preston. ‘Instead, point them lower so that the cool air can rise naturally.’

Greg Wilson, CEO of car insurance price comparison website quotezone.co.uk. suggests: ‘Look out for parking spots which are covered by trees or find a large van or lorry to park next to.

‘This should help keep the heat of the sun off the interior of your car.’

Don’t feel guilty about screen time

With schools finishing early or closing altogether because of the heat, parents may need to spend more time keeping their children’s mood stable.

A child’s hypothalamus, the part of the brain which helps control body temperature, is still developing, meaning they’re less able to prevent themselves overheating – and melting down.

So lower the bar, says parenting coach Natalie Costa. ‘Let go of the guilt. Allow screen time to support you and keep mealtimes simple. Your job right now is to keep everybody safe and emotionally stable. There’s no need for perfection.’ Cool the backs of children’s necks and wrists with ice cubes and try breathing in for four slow breaths and out for four breaths to regulate mood.

‘When it’s hot we often operate from urgency, so consciously slow things down.’

Go easy on the booze watching the footie

Alcohol is a diuretic, which increases the risk of dehydration. It can also temporarily lower blood pressure, adding to lightheadedness from the heat and – thanks to its effects on stress hormones such as cortisol – can jeopardise your sleep at the best of times. ‘Enjoying an evening glass of wine on the patio is nice – finishing the bottle is probably not the wisest,’ says Dr Stanley, who recommends leaving an hour between alcohol consumption and bed.

And don’t guzzle water just before turning off the light either. ‘Drink two pints before bed and you’ll just have to get up to pee and might struggle to go back to sleep,’ says Dr Stanley. ‘It’s far better to keep a glass of water beside your bed and take sips when you need it.’

Give gel mattress toppers a go

Try cooling gel pillow pads (£12.99, lidl.co.uk) and mattress toppers containing gel or gel infused foam (£135.99, Slumberdown Cooling Gel Memory Foam Topper Mattress Topper, debenhams.com).

‘The gel layer has a high heat capacity and is designed to absorb body heat, which helps you cool down and helps to promote deep sleep,’ says Dr Bostock, who is reluctant to recommend specific brands but recently bought a foam pillow from Panda London she describes as a ‘good product’ (Hybrid bamboo pillow, £89.95, pandalondon.com). She also suggests experimenting with cooling eye masks. (Try Optase cooling mask, £10.99, boots.com). ‘Research suggests cooling the front of the brain may make that part of the brain less metabolically active – and may promote sleep onset.’

Avoid the temptation of an ice-cold shower

A slight drop in body temperature – about 1C – signals to the brain that it’s time to sleep and helps us stay asleep too.

The brain perceives a sudden blast of cold water, however, as an ‘existential threat’, says Dr Stanley, and sends signals to the body to warm up to compensate.

So tempting as it is, the cold shower is a bad idea. ‘It sounds counterintuitive but a warm shower is better.’

If you need some late evening relief, keep a flannel in some water in the fridge, suggests Dr Bownes, ‘to put round your neck as a way of keeping cool’.

Keep your blinds and curtains shut all day

This reduces the ‘solar load’, says Dr Stanley and thus the temperature in your bedroom.

Whether or not to open your window before bed depends on your house and location. ‘In a city or town it will obviously increase noise and may make it harder to sleep. And an old house with stone walls may be cooler than the outdoor temperature anyway, so opening the windows will only let the hot air in.’

One of you should sleep in the spare room

Sleeping with someone in a heatwave ‘is like having an electric fire in bed with you’, says Dr Stanley. ‘If you have a spare room now is the time to use it.

‘Ask each other who needs a better night’s sleep most, in terms of what you’ve got going on the next day, and acknowledge that sleeping will likely be tough in this weather.’

If separate beds aren’t an option, try separate bedsheets, says Dr Bostock: ‘This allows you to be in control of your own temperature and means you aren’t picking up latent heat from your partner.’

Wearing PJs is better than sleeping naked

‘Our body produces sweat to lose body temperature but if sweat stays on the skin it will shut down its cooling mechanism,’ says Dr Stanley. ‘Nightwear made of natural fibres such as cotton, silk and bamboo help wick away moisture. It might sound counterintuitive but the more skin you cover the better.’ Marks & Spencer has a range of Cool Comfort nightwear which uses special technology to help you keep cool as you sleep. The only downside? They currently only make them for women. (Autograph Cool Comfort Cotton Modal Shortie Set, £28, marksandspencer.com).

To most effectively wick away sweat, he also recommends going without a sheet or duvet cover – and definitely the duvet itself – so the air from your bedroom is in direct contact with your nightwear. But he concedes some feel vulnerable without anything covering them at night. In this case he suggests sleeping naked and allowing the sheet to wick away sweat from your skin but points out ‘a sheet doesn’t fit you in the same way as a pair of PJs’.

Embrace the European siesta

If you can’t sleep, ‘go downstairs as it’s likely to be cooler or do something that stops you feeling frustrated – read a book, listen to the radio, watch the World Cup – the last thing you want to do is toss and turn’, says Dr Stanley.

And consider a daytime nap if you can. ‘Obviously the Southern Europeans do very well with their siestas when it’s simply too hot to go outside,’ says Dr Wainwright. ‘If you haven’t slept well the previous night, have a lie down.’

Cut yourself (and others) some slack

‘I think it’s really important to be kind to ourselves,’ says Dr Wainwright. ‘I know that sounds wishy-washy but when it’s hot we’re all struggling to some degree. I think it’s a matter of being realistic about what’s possible.’ Maybe you can’t respond to all your emails, or write as much of that report as you planned. ‘At the end of the day don’t beat yourself up and say that was a terrible day’s work.’

Similarly, at home he suggests being ‘mindful not to snap at something small’ and remember: ‘We’re not necessarily thinking as clearly as we would otherwise.’