Keep Your Cool

During these hot and humid summer months, days filled with back-to-back classes and rehearsals can put a lot of stress on your body. Dancers are no strangers to sweating and exhaustion, but exercising in the summer months often puts athletes at risk of heat exhaustion, a more serious medical condition. Common signs include pale and clammy skin, faintness, over-sweating, and high body temperature. If you start to feel these symptoms, lying down, removing or loosening clothing, and applying cool water to the skin can help stave them off. To prevent heat exhaustion, make sure not only to drink water throughout the day but also to include some electrolyte beverages, like Gatorade, even if you don’t feel thirsty. Once extreme thirst comes on, your body is often in the early stages of exhaustion or dehydration.