WE ASKED Chidinma Nwakanma, professor of clinical emergency medicine at Penn Medicine in Philadelphia, for tips on regulating your temperature besides blasting the air-conditioning.

Fan placement. In shaded rooms, put a fan near an open window and aim it into the room to circulate fresh air. In sunny rooms, turn the fan around (or reverse the blade rotation) so it blows hot air out.

Evaporative cooling. Sit by a fan and spritz water from a spray bottle in the air between you and the fan. This is the fastest way to cool yourself down and is used on patients with heat stroke.

Showers with peppermint. Take a cool shower before bed using a peppermint gel or soap. Each has cooling properties.

Natural fibers. Wear cotton, which is more breathable than synthetics. Also, for cooler sleep, skip high-thread-count sheets. Aim for a thread count between 200 and 400, according to the Sleep Foundation.

Diet. Foods with high water content—leafy greens, melons, oranges and pineapples—are cooling. Spicy foods can also help because they contain capsaicin, which jumpstarts your natural coolant: sweat. —Niamh Rowe