Usually after a hot day in the sun or a long work out session most people are going to tend to grab an ice cold drink to help them cool down. I know I personally enjoy cold water after a hot day but sometimes it feels like it does nothing to help cool me down. Is this because drinking a hot drink can actually help cool us down more effectively than a cold drink? A neuroscientist from the University of Cambridge, Peter McNaughton, explains that we have nerve receptors in our mouths and tongues which receive signals from different things. Surprisingly enough our tongues have an abundance of this special receptor called TRPV 1which responds to heat (Palca). So naturally if you are going to drink something hot, these receptors are going to send a signal to your brain. Your brain will then know that the sensation your tongue is feeling is hot. Once the brain gets this signal, it turns on our cooling mechanism to cause us to sweat more (Palca). If you think about it, this makes a lot of sense. We want our bodies to cool down faster and usually sweat is the best way to do so. If we want to sweat more, then why wouldn’t we do something to cause that?
from graytcoffeehouse.com
I think this was a very interesting way to look at how we can have misconceptions about things in our bodies. People all around the world drink tea and coffee even if it is hot outside. It is probably a good idea that they do because it just be might be helping them to cool down. It would be really compelling if we could do a study with two groups of people, one who drinks cold drinks after feeling hot, and the other who drinks hot drinks after feeling hot. The subjects could then record how long it took for them to cool down. It would have to be a well designed study to get the right results. But, there still could be some questions, such as does this work in every situation or is this helpful for every person? So, next time you are really hot, try drinking a hot drink instead and see if this actually helps cool down more than a cold drink.
Works Cited
Palca, Joe. “Cool Down With A Hot Drink? It’s Not As Crazy As You Think.” NPR. NPR, 11 Jan. 2012. Web. 24 Oct. 2014. <http://www.npr.org/blogs/thesalt/2012/07/11/156378713/cool-down-with-a-hot-drink-its-not-as-crazy-as-you-think>.
Nice post. Doesn’t seem to make much sense but I see how it could. Personally i like drinking cold drinks on hot days and hot drinks on cold days but I guess I’m doing it wrong. This probably won’t change what i’m going to drink today but it does change my opinion on the topic. It makes sense that you are colder after drinking any hot drink and hotter after drinking a cold drink.
This is an interesting idea. I was not fully convinced by the evidence, so I researched the topic and found a study done on this topic. According to the article, this only works in certain circumstances. The study showed that hot drinks increase perspiration but this will only cool you down faster if you are in an area that will evaporate all of your excess sweat. For example, if we try doing this in a hot day during the summer it will probably have no effect on us, but if we were to take a trip to the desert then drinking a hot drink would cool us down faster because sweat can evaporate easier in a hotter climate such as the desert.
http://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/a-hot-drink-on-a-hot-day-can-cool-you-down-1338875/?no-ist
I found this interesting, but I personally would still prefer water on a hot day. People would also want to drink cooler drinks on warmer days because they’re dehydrated and naturally would go for water. I also think that holding the hot drink would make you hotter. I found another article on a study that states that spicy foods like peppers also have the chemicals that make your body cool down, and that’s why you think they’re spicy. You can read more here here
This article was actually really cool. When I’m cold I drink a warm drink to “warm me up” but now I know its basically doing the exact opposite. On warm days or after working out when I feel extremely hot, I grab an ice cold water. According to this I’m doing the wrong thing.
I always finish a hot day with a big glass of ice water. It is very interesting to realize that maybe I should change my drink option if I truly want to cool down. After reading your post, it does make a lot of sense that in order to cool down the body must sweat. I find that i myself sweat a lot especially during high intense physical activities that involve a lot of cardio. Although I appreciate the information presented in this article, I might still stick with my cold water after a long hot day.