Need to cool down fast? This is much easier than an ice bath

Working or playing outside on a very hot day? There are some cool ways to lower your temperature and extend the fun without resorting to an ice bath if you get overheated, which is dangerous.

But the best one, according to experts consulted by The Washington Post , is a slushy.

Or rather, any method of consuming tiny chunks of ice, including snow cones. What matters is that it’s actually ice and you don’t choke on it. Hence, drinkable ice. Not a drink with ice.

“Swallowing ice takes advantage of a quirk of physics: Melting ice absorbs a lot of heat without warming up at all. In your stomach, a lot of your body heat will just go into breaking up the ice crystals — and then, once they’re all melted, you have a belly full of cold water that will gradually soak up even more heat from your body,” writes Nicolás Rivero, the Post’s climate solutions reporter.

The advice is based on a pair of studies.

In 2020, Australian and United Kingdom researchers looked at what extends the ability to stay outside in very hot temperatures and found that water-perfused suits worn in the heat, ingesting a slushy before work and wearing an ice vest all boost heat tolerance. The study was published in Applied Ergonomics .

The other study, published in 2014 in the journal Applied Physiology Nutrition and Metabolism , found that cold water immersion and iced slush ingestion were both very effective at cooling a group of firefighters who had participated in a simulated search and rescue.

So how much slushy do you need? The Post reported that both studies suggested around one fluid ounce for every eight pounds you weigh. So the firefighters, who were about 185 pounds each, did well with “23 ounces, which is roughly one large Slurpee from 7-Eleven.”

You can drink your icy beverage before you go out, while you’re in the heat or after you come inside. The Post notes it also doesn’t matter how fast you drink it. Just don’t let it melt.

Cool, right?