Last winter I mentioned to someone how crazy and wonderful I found it that while the first 40F degree day in November or December feels unbearably cold, a 40F day in February after a few days or weeks below freezing feels balmy.
I wondered to him out loud if the effect was psychological or physical. I forgot that he was a medical doctor. He told me the body does change things to adjust to different temperatures. If it adjusts to handle cold, it must be adjusting back from adjustments it made out of cold—that is, to warmth.
I’ve found that the summer heat and humidity become more tolerable with exposure. We had a few days over 100F in late spring, if I remember right, but no more into the hundreds in July and August. We might hit a hot spell in September, but the forecast for the next ten days doesn’t hit 90F, so I conclude the most extreme heat of the summer is likely behind us.
Not using air conditioning or even a fan overnight, I braced as usual for severe discomfort. I had also recent learned about George Washington and his troops’ winter in Valley Forge. They experienced extreme cold, not heat, but I find that their experience puts mine in perspective when everyone else in the city talks about air conditioning as if it was a necessity for life on an island where people have lived for over 5,000 years. In all of that time there were more trees to shade under, so if we changed anything to handle the heat, I’d replace many roads, parking lots, and buildings with forest.
Anyway, the most extreme experiences are being awakened at night purely from sweating from the heat. Each time I did, I put a hash mark on my chalk board. This summer, I marked five such times. I wouldn’t describe it as torture. I suspect many readers feel compelled to lecture me about old and infirm people with more susceptibility to extreme temperatures. They might as well remind me that water is wet or something else everyone knows. It doesn’t affect what I’m writing about.
In any case, I believe that the effect of the body adjustment I described in the first two paragraphs above led to my body handling heat more effectively than most people using air conditioning all the time. I can hear air conditioners running up and down my block as I type. I don’t feel the need for it. I’m comfortable with the temperature.
I conclude that my overall discomfort from heat and humidity is less, not more, for not using air conditioning.
I grew up preferring too-cold to too-hot if I had to pick one, but I find myself developing greater tolerance for heat with this hands-on practical experience.