do hot drinks cool you down

Debunked: We asked an expert if hot drinks actually cool you down in a heat wave

Looks like your mum has been right all along x


Do hot drinks cool you down? It’s a question we ask ourselves every summer and no one seems to know the answer. For some unknown reason, on every scorching hot day the only thing your mum wants is to drink a cup of tea and smugly tell you how it’s actually cooling her down. This debate divides the nation entirely. Half of us want a pint in the beer garden and the other half have some sense and a cup of tea in hand.

A few years ago they told us we can no longer sleep with fans on and now they’re trying to tell us hot drinks don’t actually cool us down. It seems like they want us to sweat for the rest of our living days!! We asked an expert to settle this debate once and for all and honestly tell us: do hot drinks cool you down? Here’s what they had to say.

Lena Jüngst, Co-Founder and Chief Evangelist of Air Up has clarified whether hot drinks actually do anything for us in a heat wave. They said: “In most cases, drinking hot or cool drinks minimally impacts your overall body temperature. However, your body will regulate it to its baseline temperature within a few minutes. Our body’s temperature changes slightly two degrees throughout the day as we eat, drink, and exercise.”

Lena says to keep the system up and running, it is essential to stay hydrated. Especially on hot days, our bodies sweat to regulate the temperature. Therefore, we should avoid dehydration and prevent heat stroke and heat exhaustion. Obviously cold drinks are actually ideal as they keep your body temperature down temporarily and refresh our mind. Lena says: “Water is the ideal source for daily hydration – but as pure as water can be boring, people struggle to drink the recommended amount of water daily.”

A study from 2012 found body heat storage is lower when warm liquids are consumed which basically means if you drink warm water your body stores less heat and you cool down. There you have it, science has proved your mum right.

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