The Fifth Season
If it is Fall already, why is it still hot & how does that affect me?
We have entered the Fifth Season! Growing up in New England, we called it Indian Summer. Known as the Long Summer in Chinese, the fifth season is not a distinct season of its own, as it crosses demarcations of Summer and Autumn. Yet, the heat of the last weeks of August and the first of September can feel harder to handle than the summer heat of July!
What do we need to watch out for?
- Heat stroke for school athletes happen more frequently even though the same kids were playing outside all summer on hotter days;
- Exhaustion for adults who find they can’t keep up with their usual pace in the heat;
- The feeling of being beaten by the heat as we step out of stores and into the parking lot, leading us to purchase and consume more cold sugared beverages/food;
- Headaches, sinus pressure, and a depletion of our immune system making us more susceptible to bacterial and viral infections going around.
Why are we so susceptible to the heat of the fifth season? This happens because the afternoons show the heat of Summer, but the mornings and evenings already have the coolness of Fall. Our pores, which play an underrated and misunderstood role in our health and illness, are adjusting to the colder temperatures and thus, trap more of our own heat inside. In addition, just as the Yang Qi is weaker in the trees around us leading to drying and changing of the leaves, our own Yang Qi has less strength to keep out the heat of the day. It penetrates our skin more deeply and overheats us more easily.
Our choices play a role in this, as well. We are underdressed in the early morning and in the late evening, as we remember the heat of the day before. Thus cold effects us in the early morning and ends up getting trapped inside. Our body’s temperature mechanisms become disregulated, poorly managing the hot part of the day. Our answer? reach for and consume more cold things to relieve the heat, continuing the body’s confusion and making us worse off despite temporary relief .
What to do?
- Help the pores transition by dressing according to the time of day, not for the expected heat in the afternoon. If you look down and are in sandals, shorts and a tshirt in the morning but it is still in the 50-60s because you know it will be in the 80s-90s later, your pores have to compensate.
- Know when to moderate the temperature of your beverages. There is nothing wrong with a well timed cold beverage, but room temperature or even warm beverages in the mornings and evenings help your body transition more effectively.
• Still having trouble with the heat? Schedule an appointment and commit to a week or two of herbs to get yourself regulated!