Posted on May 30th, 2023

The summer high heat is here with a temperature rise of around 65-80 degrees Fahrenheit. When it becomes hot, the protection of employees who are working outdoors becomes crucial. The employees who work outdoors not only deal with the high heat but also with thirst and hunger.

If your team is always outdoors, they don’t even get time to eat. Furthermore, several heat-related problems can occur while working outdoors, such as heat rashes, heatstroke, heat exhaustion, and heat cramps. Therefore, it is necessary to create a strategy that helps manage the issues of outdoor employees.

Employers should provide them with food that satisfies their hunger and helps them stay hydrated. Furthermore, employers have to take extra precautionary measures to ensure the safety of employees working outdoors in these hot months. Summer heat is a problem for employees working inside or outside.

Thus, employers must compensate their workforce for a healthy and happy team on the job. For instance, there should be available air-conditioned spaces for the workers where they can relax.

Staying Hydrated is the Key to Avoid High Heat:

When you sweat during hot summer, the essential electrolytes that come out of the body lead to low energy and nausea. In addition, electrolytes play a significant role in keeping the body hydrated and regulating muscle contraction and proper functioning of the nervous system. Therefore, it is necessary to drink more quantity of water so that you can compensate for the loss.

At workplaces, there should always be available cool and drinkable water. Workers should drink 16 ounces of water before starting work. Furthermore, it encourages the employees to have 5 to 7 ounces of water every five minutes to keep them hydrated.

However, in this hot summer, water alone can’t fulfill the requirements of your body. Therefore, you have to take food that helps replenish your body’s electrolytes. For this purpose, sports beverages are also delicious.

So, keep a stock of sports beverages with you, especially in the daytime. Hence, carbohydrates are very efficient in maintaining body hydration. Therefore, select a sports beverage containing six to eight percent of carbohydrates.

To provide employees with a fresh and healthy sports drink, employers can prepare it in bulk. For instance, take six to eight sliced cucumbers and a cup of diced watermelon and put it in 48 ounces of water. Let it cool on ice and have fun!

Water is not enough for the Body’s Hydration:

Though the water and other drinks fulfill 80 percent of the hydration requirement, the remaining 20 percent of hydration depends on the food we eat. Therefore, you should provide the workforce with food that helps them stay hydrated.

Some snacks can add plenty of water to their diet when needed to cope with the high heat.

Watermelon: It is a water-rich fruit and contains 92 percent of water. There also present potassium in it, which is an electrolyte. Thus, eating a juicy slice of watermelon will provide plenty of water and protect you from heatstroke.

Cucumbers: This vegetable is 95 percent of water. Thus, it will efficiently keep your body hydrated. It also contains other beneficial elements such as fibers and antioxidants like beta carotene and vitamins A and K.

Pickles: Pickles are also rich in water. The brine in which pickles are dispensed contains many vitamins and minerals, including 20 percent Vitamin K. Regardless of its taste, everyone should drink it during blazing summer to fulfill the hydration requirements. Furthermore, just two cups of it can provide 200mg of sodium which is enough to refill our body with the fluids lost due to sweating.

Peaches: This fruit is rich in the potassium required for hydration. In addition, its peel also contains antioxidants that prevent heat illnesses.

Pepper: Peppers are packed with two significant elements, Vitamin C and water. Both of these are very helpful in beating the high heat. Red bell pepper contains more Vitamin C and water than orange one.

Celery: This vegetable is full of fibers and contains 95 percent water. Thus, it can provide you with a significant amount of hydration to cope with the summer heat.

Ideal Hot Weather Snacks:

In addition to fruit and vegetables, some snacks can help your workers to fill their hunger. These snacks are easy to carry, so employees working outside can quickly eat them when they feel hungry.

Trail mix:

It is a mixture of nuts and seeds which provides you with healthy fats. However, try to eat salt and sugar-free nuts and avoid adding chocolates to the mix because they will melt when exposed to high heat.

Beef jerky:

Beef jerky provides your body with plenty of protein that helps to fuel your body with energy. Furthermore, it will remain fresh irrespective of weather conditions.

Granola:

A nutrition-filled cereal contains oats, nuts, and seeds. Avoid adding liquids such as honey, maple, or corn syrup. Furthermore, make sure that your cereal contains less than 5 grams of sugar per serving.

Cool Down Before Work Starts:

Encourages your workers to follow some of the steps mentioned below to maintain their body temperature before returning to jobs.

Limit intake of Caffeine:

Unfortunately, we have made our bodies habitual of tea, coffee, and other caffeinated drinks. We feel idle or inactive if we don’t intake these caffeinated drinks. However, caffeine dehydrates our bodies; thus, we should limit its use until it gets cool or work shifts indoors.

Stop use of sugars:

It is scientifically proven that sugar-contained beverages or drinks worsen dehydration and cause kidney-related problems.

Keep it Light:

Foods rich in protein, such as meat, can heat our bodies. We should go for light meals such as green vegetables, fruit, and nuts which keep our bodies hydrated and refuel us with electrolytes.

Conclusion:

In addition to food and water supply, employers should also provide air-conditioned spaces and shades to employees for taking rest. Hence, rest is equally essential to rejuvenate your body to cope with the summer heat.