Officials in the Colombian city of Santa Marta have told residents that they should take a break from sex in an effort to stay cool during a heat wave that has seen temperatures soar to higher than 104 degrees Fahrenheit.
"Avoid making love or having sex at times when the temperature is high, especially at noon, because this activity places physical demands on you and increases your heart rate," said Julio Salas, the health secretary of Santa Marta.
Sexual activity, which rarely makes a person's heart rate go over 130 beats per minute, is considered to be a mild to moderate activity in terms of exercise. And according to the American Heart Association, the heart works the same amount during sex as it does when walking up two flights of stairs.
"If you have good air-conditioning, there is no problem," said Salas. For those without it, however, Salas recommended waiting until after sunset because "it is better to do it at night when the ambient temperature is lower."
Avoiding sex was just one of the tips that Salas gave. Others included wearing loose clothing and drinking large amounts of water, Sky News reported.
Hospitals throughout the city of Santa Marta were receiving patients, who were complaining of nausea and headaches, both symptoms of heat exhaustion, according to the Mayo Clinic.
Record temperatures have been reported during the past several months as people around the globe have been suffering from the effects of heat waves.
Temperatures in the Japanese city of Kumagaya rose to a record of 105.98 degrees Fahrenheit at the end of July, leaving at least 44 people dead.
Forty-two people were reported dead and more than 3,400 received treatment for heat-related illnesses in South Korea last week, reported The Guardian. Temperatures reached a record-breaking 103.28 degrees Fahrenheit.
Eight different places in Portugal reached record-breaking temperatures during a heat wave that claimed the lives of two people in Spain at the beginning of the month. The temperature reached 113 degrees Fahrenheit in Abrantes, a town in central Portugal, reported USA Today. Wildfires have also raged across Sweden, which recorded its hottest temperatures in July in more than 250 years.
The death toll from Greece's deadliest forest fire grew to 96 people when a 68-year-old man succumbed to his injuries in the hospital on Tuesday. The former minister for public order and citizen protection, Nikos Toskas, said at the end of July that there were "serious indications" of arson. He resigned from his position shortly after.
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