How to cope in a heatwave - according to you

ByGrace Dean

As the UK swelters through some of its hottest June nights on record, people have been looking for more creative ways to stay cool.

While some told BBC News they are happy to stick with tried-and-tested methods such as keeping blackout curtains shut all day, others are turning to slightly more unorthodox methods to get a small reprieve from the stifling heat.

So, here are your DIY hacks to coping in a heatwave.

Keeping your home cool: I bought survival blankets for my windows

Bethan Earley, from Rugby, tries to keep her home cool by putting foil blankets on the outside of her windows before closing them. "The house does still get warm," she told BBC Your Voice, "but it takes much longer to warm up."

John Turbefield, 38, from Chichester, says he has placed white bed sheets on the outside of the windows in some of the hottest rooms in his house. Over the weekend he bought a pack of survival blankets - often used to help athletes regulate their body temperature - and placed them on the remaining windows.

"They're designed to reflect heat and they are large, so they're ideal for taping to the window frame to reflect most of the light back out," he says.

John says he has also stocked his freezer with two-litre plastic bottles of water, which he places in front of and behind the five fans he has set up around his house. However, he says anyone who wants to copy him will need patience: large bottles may take a couple of days to freeze, he adds.

The UK Health Security Agency advises people to only open their windows when the air feels cooler outside than inside - and to turn off non-essential electronics that can generate heat, such as TVs, laptops and chargers.

Getting your Zzzs: I put the bed sheet in the freezer shortly before bedtime

Stephanie Reed, 39, from Chorley, says it's important for her to stay cool because extreme heat triggers her epilepsy.

At night, she now wets a hand towel and lays it across the end of her bed. She then sleeps with her feet and ankles on it. "It helps to regulate body temperature and it does stay cool all night," she says.

Stephanie says she has also started sprinkling her seven-year-old daughter's bed sheet with water and putting it in the freezer for about half an hour before bedtime - long enough for it to be cool for falling asleep on, but not long enough for it to actually freeze.

Gordon Cooper, 73, from High Wycombe, told BBC Your Voice that he hangs a wet bath towel in his bedroom and places his fan nearby to help cool down the room.

Others have been changing where they sleep to escape the stifling heat.

During the last heatwave, Anabelle Holschuh, 30, found it so hard to sleep in her attic bedroom that she picked up a blanket and cushion and slept on the floor in the hallway.

This time round, Anabelle, who lives in London, is sleeping on her living room sofa, which is north-facing and in a room with tall ceilings and an electric fan. "Last night I slept fairly well on the sofa, so no need to wander further downstairs to the hallway," she says.

Eating in the heat: Use the air fryer over the oven

For Aimee Ludgate, 29, from Bradford, using an oven or hob in this heat is a no-go. Instead, she's been making as many meals as possible using her air fryer. She says she's even boiled eggs and cooked steak in it.

She also freezes a big bottle of water overnight that she can take to work the next day.

Dietitian Kate Hilton says she's drinking more iced water and eating cool, hydrating foods like cucumber, tomatoes, melon and frozen smoothies. Other fruits that can help hydrate you are berries, peaches and citrus fruits, she says. For kids who are fussy eaters, freezing fruit juice or smoothies into ice pops can be a good way to help keep them cool.

She says both caffeine and especially alcohol can have dehydrating effects, and recommends drinking alcohol in moderation during hot weather and alternating it with non-alcoholic drinks.

"Water is generally the best thing to drink, but remember that all fluids, other than alcohol, are considered hydrating, so if you prefer sugar-free squash or other flavourings, this does still count towards hydration," she says.

Working from home: I moved my office to the coolest room in the house

Some people have been changing their working-from-home set-up to try and keep cool.

Oren Brown, 27, usually works in a dedicated office room but says his terraced house in County Durham is "horribly stifling upstairs". So he and his partner have started working downstairs instead, which is cooler.

Gillian Cooley has set up her office in her bedroom as she says it's the coolest room in her house, near Peterborough. She owns a small business and now works on her laptop in the evening instead of the afternoon, when the room is even cooler.

Dressing for a heatwave: Avoid silky, synthetic fabrics

Jess Jepson, 31, who lives in Manchester, says she's been dressing for the weather by wearing loose-fitting, light and airy clothes and opting for paler colours. "I wore black the other day and really regretted it," she says.

She keeps her hair off her face and neck by wearing it up in a claw clip.

"It's a challenge to keep cool whilst still feeling put together," Jess says.

Stylist Chantelle Znideric advises people to opt for natural fibres such as cotton and linen, which she says are "highly breathable and disperse moisture across the fabric rather than trapping it against your skin", whereas silky, synthetic fabrics will make you sweaty.

When it comes to accessories, basketball caps will shade your eyes when it's sunny, but will leave your ears and neck completely exposed. Instead, Chantelle recommends choosing a wide-brimmed fedora or bucket hat to get full coverage.

Changing your routine: We do enrichment activities with our dogs indoors

Annie Smith, 27, from St Albans, says she and her husband have switched up their daily routines to beat the heat.

They now walk their two dachshunds in the morning and do enrichment activities with them in the house to keep them occupied "since it's too hot to walk them after 8am or 9am".

They've also bought cooling vests for their dogs and keep wet dog food in the fridge.

Annie says she and her partner also are trying to get their house chores done before about 10am "so I can sit still and stay cool the rest of the day", she says.

Helena Kandzialka, 55, says she's been sitting outside in the shade because the breeze makes it cooler than in her house, and is avoiding car journeys when possible.

Get in touch

How are you coping in the heatwave?