THE summer days are long and hot. Generally, we try to use conventional methods of cooling down, such as turning on the fan or loading up on cold beverages. But what happens when your fan starts blowing hot air, or you just simply want a change? Here are some different ways of keeping cool this summer.

1 Prepare a spray bottle with unsweetened peppermint tea, stick it in the fridge and spray on your face when you get hot. The peppermint has a cooling effect on your skin.

2 Freeze water bottles and place in front of a fan. As the air from the fan blows on the bottles they will melt and cool the air blowing toward you.

3 Eat more spicy food and drink more tea. These will cause you to sweat more without raising your body’s temperature. Sweating is your body’s natural way of cooling down. So, just wipe your brow, while your body cools itself down.

4 Dipping the feet in icy cold water is also thought to have a cooling effect on the body.

5 Put clothes in plastic bags and stick in the freezer for a few minutes before putting them on. This is especially effective when going to bed. Don’t want to freeze your clothes? Use a spray bottle to spritz your clothes before putting them on.

6 Grains absorb heat or cold. So to keep cool, fill a sock with rice (tie it off) and stick it into the freezer. After an hour in the refridgerator, the ‘compress’ will be cool for up to half an hour.

7 Keep curtains closed. Closed curtains block the direct rays of the sun from streaming into, and heating up your house.

8 In addition to keeping curtains closed, you could also moisten curtains with water, so that as the air blows past and through them, it becomes cooler.

9 Switch off — even unplug — appliances. Televisions, computers, even chargers all produce heat; therefore, unplugging these will help you to avoid unnecessary heat.

10 Turn fans to face out. The fan will pull the hot air out of the house, helping it to cool down.

And brawta — you could always just sleep on the floor.

Some of these methods may seem unusual, but people say they have tried them, and they work. Test them out, and send us photographs of your #BeatTheHeat methods to COC.teenAGE@gmail.com.