Summer Life Hacks to Help You Keep Cool in Malta

Temperatures are set to rise over the weekend and stay high into next week. According to the forecast, the temperature will peak at 36 degrees Celsius on Sunday, with a ‘feels like’ temperature of 40! So far, it looks like it’s going to stay that way until at least Wednesday. If you’ve recently moved to Malta, or you haven’t yet experienced a Maltese summer, be prepared. The high humidity levels don’t make anything more comfortable, either. So, with the rising temperatures in mind, we’ve found some of the internet’s best summer life hacks. These hacks will help you keep cool over the next few days and hopefully improve your summer life in Malta.

Go for a swim

First things first, go for a swim! Malta is a small island, so you’ll never be far away from the sea (or a pool). Swimming is a great way to cool off in the summer. Plus, it’s fantastic exercise! Swimming is especially good for your posture. It’s a low-impact sport, so it can also be the perfect option for those of you who are recovering from an injury. In addition, the salty water is good for your skin and for those beachy waves! Check out our other article, ‘Your Guide to Swimming in Malta This Summer’ to find out some of the best places to swim on the island. You can also find out how to check which beach(es) are jellyfish-free and how to pick an ocean-friendly sunscreen. If you are heading to the beach, don’t forget to pack the talcum powder. To save your car from getting sandy, rub talcum powder on your legs and feet (and anywhere else that’s sandy) to dry it off and get rid of the sand before you get in.

Keep hydrated

This might sound obvious but all of us could probably do with drinking more water. In the heat, we can actually sweat several litres a day! Water is life, and it’s essential to stay hydrated to keep healthy. Dehydration can lead to dizziness, fatigue and other, more serious problems. Various estimates have been touted over the years, but the general consensus nowadays is that we should aim to drink between 2 and 2.5 litres of water a day. If you don’t drink a lot, this probably sounds like quite a monumental task. One of the best ways to encourage yourself to drink more is to carry around a reusable water bottle. If you always have it with you, you’ll find yourself drinking without even thinking about it. There are now a few ‘water points’ around Malta where you can fill up your bottles for as little as 15 cents per litre.

Make ice cubes your best friend

Never underestimate the usefulness of an ice cube tray! Who says you can only put water in it? If you’re a coffee drinker who likes to switch to iced coffee in the summer, fill up your tray with coffee. You can use the frozen coffee cubes to cool down your morning cuppa without diluting it! Similarly, if you’re a sucker for a G&T, fill up your tray with lemon juice and add a lemon cube to your tipple to flavour it and cool it at the same time. If you’ve got any furry friends who struggle to keep cool in the summer, you can freeze organic chicken or fish stock. Your cat and/or dog will love these cold and tasty treats! You can freeze all sorts. Going to the beach for the day? Freeze your after-sun lotion before you go out so that you can rub a cold and soothing cube over your sun-kissed skin when you get back!

Upgrade your bedsheets and pyjamas

Finding it difficult to get to sleep at night? If you spend your summer nights feeling sweaty and uncomfortable, it might be time to have a look at the material that your pyjamas and bedsheets are made out of. If you’re sleeping in synthetic sheets and pyjamas, you should swap them out for natural materials. Cotton is the perfect natural material for your sheets and night clothes. It’s breathable and it will help you keep cooler at night.

Cooling points

Do you know how you can quickly cool yourself down? If you’re feeling really hot but you’re not able to jump in the sea or a cold shower, you can still cool down quickly. There are various points on your body which you can use to cool yourself down, without having to strip off! Some of the best (and easiest) points to use include your neck, your wrists and your feet. You put an ice pack or even just a cold drink on the back of your neck to get some quick relief. You can also run your wrists under a cold tap or pop your feet in a bucket of cold water.

Wet paper towels

Got people coming over and a fridge full of warm drinks? Use wet paper towel to cool them down quickly! It’s hard to find cold drinks in the supermarkets in Malta. In the UK and elsewhere in the EU, many drinks, including large selections of beers and white wines, are kept in the fridge. However, in Malta, this isn’t the case. Shops usually only have one or two small fridges for drinks so, usually, you end up having to buy everything at room temperature. If you want to cool a drink down quickly, you can wrap it in wet paper towel (or a wet cloth) and pop it in the freezer. It’ll get cold very quickly! Don’t forget to keep an eye on it, to make sure it doesn’t freeze completely. Fizzy drinks can ‘explode’ when they freeze!

Avoid using the hob or the oven

Cooking can make your apartment in Malta feel seriously uncomfortable! Just using the hob or the oven for a few minutes can heat up your flat. When you’re planning dinner, look up some recipes which you can follow that don’t require the use of the oven or the hob. You can make loads of nice salads, sandwiches, wraps and other ‘no-cook dinners’ that will save you from overheating and save you money on your bills!

These are just a few ‘summer life hacks’ to help you keep cool and improve your life this weekend and throughout the rest of this summer in Malta. Don’t forget, umbrellas aren’t just useful for keeping you dry. You might not look very cool, but you can use your umbrella to protect yourself from the sun as well as from the rain! Who cares what you look like when you’re keeping cool?