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Getting Seriously Hot At The Australian Open Tennis

By Bill, posted
It's feeling seriously hot at the tennis Australian Open right now. With temperatures hitting 44 degrees no wonder people are struggling to even go and watch the tennis let alone the professionals who are actually having to play in it.
So how does the heat actually effect them? Well normally the body likes to be at an average temperature of 37 degrees. It can do that by pushing the bodies water to the surface which then evaporates, also known as sweating. It also pushes the warm blood to the skin surface, moving the warmth away from the body.
The problem they've got in Australia is with the temperature being 44 degrees it's warmer than the body temperature, therefore they're not losing heat, they're gaining it! The only way of losing heat is through sweating which causes dehydration and causes the heart rate to increase putting the body under a lot of stress. Heat stroke sets in when the core body temperature exceeds 40 degrees.
So then what happens? Well migraines, nausea and bad cramping are all symptons of heat stroke as well as hallucinations and loss of consciousness which have been displayed by some of the players. In serious cases people need to be admitted to hospital.
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Is there anything you can do to prevent heat stroke? Staying well hydrated, especially before you go into the heat is the main thing. It can take 20 minutes for the water to absorb into the body so get well stocked up in plenty of time.
Seeing pictures like these of professional athletes really does hit home how dangerous the heat can be and something to think about when we're exercising ourselves.
 

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