Hey there,

Welcome back to my Blog! Hope you are enjoying summer!

When I was younger, I used to love summer. For me it meant the end of another scholastic year and end of exams. When I started working full time in an office environment, the a/c is set to ‘freeze’ all day, every day. This is when summer love faded away to summer hate! I started realizing that I fall sick more frequently in summer compared to winter. At first I couldn’t understand why, but then the reason dawned on me; because of the excessive use of air-conditioning.

As a singer I had to learn to adapt to such an environment and to try to prevent sickness as much as possible. To this end, I am going to share with you what I do to take care of myself and my voice during the ‘Air-conditioning Season’.

1) Hydrate, Hydrate, Hydrate

Air-conditioning cools the air by drawing moisture from it. So, breathing air-conditioned air results in drying out the vocal chords. I am not a fan of water, however it is the main element to keep air-conditioning from effecting your vocal chords negatively. I keep a bottle of water on my desk at all times so that I remember to drink water during the day. When I am not at work, I schedule a reminder on my phone to remember to drink water. It is also healthy for you!

2) Switch off the air-conditioning during the day

I was that annoying person that used to switch off the air-conditioning in the office I used to work in. Some applauded me and others cursed me. For me, it was a relief to breath in ‘normal air’ for some minutes. There is nothing wrong in regulating the room temperature in small intervals during the day, and also it is a relief to your vocal chords.

3) Wear a light scarf

This method may seem too extreme especially in Malta’s summers. However, in a freezing office, a light scarf is actually a welcome piece of clothing. Also, a cotton or silk scarf is very thin and still acts as a protection for your throat.

4) Air-condition during the night

This is actually harmful not only to your voice but to your health in general. If you must sleep with the air-conditioning blasting during the night, at least keep a humidifier on in the room to put some moisture back in the air.

Do you have any other methods to help against the ‘air-conditioning season’? Feel free to leave them down in the comments below.

Until next time,

Yours Truly,

Jessica