A tip to deal with extreme temperatures, shared by a doctor on TikTok, is causing a buzz on the social media site. According to the health specialist, cooling specific zones of the body, such as the inside of the wrists, could help bring down your body temperature.
When heatwaves take hold, social networks are full of tips to help you keep cool. The latest one comes from Dr. Karan Raj, who suggests a way to "trick" your brain into cooling down your body.
The hypothalamus regulates body temperature
In a TikTok video viewed more than 300,000 times, the doctor states that this method involves influencing the hypothalamus. "This region of the brain basically acts like a thermostat, it can turn the temperature up or down depending on various factors like the temperature of the skin," explains the doctor, who counts some 4.9 million followers.
To "hack" this part of the brain, recognizable in the video by its "peanut" shape, you have to chill certain specific parts of the body. "These areas are known as pulse points. These pulse points are areas where the blood vessels are so close to the skin that you can feel them," explains the specialist.
Among the areas that are easily accessible, Dr. Karan Raj suggests splashing a little cold water on the radial artery, located on the inside of the wrist. Using a diagram, he lists nine areas to be cooled in order to influence the hypothalamus. These include, for example, the hollows of the knees, the temples, the tops of the feet, the backs of the ankles and the neck.
This is far from being Dr Karan Raj's first foray into social media. He makes a habit of making medical information easy to understand, and, on his social media pages, he shares health advice, secrets for living a long, healthy life, and information on Covid-19.
