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[case_insensitive]

I recognize this from myself, too. When the temp and humidity get above about 85, my brain just shuts off.

Boy, that is scary. It's above 85 and humid 75% of the year here.

[daurousseau]

Cope with summer the way most Americans have since the days before air-conditioning: baseball.

[iomhaigh]

I also recommend posting nekkid. 

[scienceprof]

I think perhaps we are supposed to feel lethargic when it is very hot in humid; like a message from your body saying "Slow down! don't have a heat stroke"

[john_proctor]

Funny, but I get more energy and more alert when it gets hot, particularly in the build up of late morning / early afternoon.

I'd be happy if the temperature never got below 80.  My "air conditioning" is set at 84.  I wear heavy clothes all spring and Fall.  Grocery stores, theatres, libraries and my office are so cold and clammy feeling to me (I keep a sweater in my office).

I grant, I do slow down when the humidity gets around 70 percent, but that's because, as a mild (very mild) asthmatic, I can't breathe as well.

[case_insensitive]

I think perhaps we are supposed to feel lethargic when it is very hot in humid; like a message from your body saying "Slow down! don't have a heat stroke"

Yes yes yes. My buddy from the Dakotas couldn't understand when she went South to get her PhD why the Southerners seem (to her) to talk and walk slow. She finally figured it out one hot summer day when she did her usual brisk walking routine to town and nearly passed out in the bank from overheating!

[geonerd]

I'm with you, the heat sucks the life out of me. But I also feel a bit of a let-down  in the summer, after the chaos of the academic year ends. Besides avoiding heat stroke, maybe your mind and your body are telling you to relax and recharge.

[frazali]

I think perhaps we are supposed to feel lethargic when it is very hot in humid; like a message from your body saying "Slow down! don't have a heat stroke"

When I first moved to the South, the slow pace drove me crazy! And then I realized that it was mainly because of the heat. I did manage to slow down a bit, but never really fit in with the pace.

[eyetoeye]

I am hoping for some advice and to hear from anyone who's dealing with something similar to this....

I have a really hard time with summer and hot sunny weather. My energy and enthusiasm levels drop, I feel groggy and lethargic all the time, unmotivated, cranky, edgy, and so on. I am entirely functional - I get done what needs to be done and am actually having a fairly productive summer, but it's only through a hard and deliberate effort. I have always been this way, since I was young and growing up in a place with blazing hot summers and relatively mild winters. It always started to go away in August when I could start to see the first signs of fall coming, but now I live in a place that has extremely short and mild winters (the coldest winter day we get here would be an early fall day in most parts of the U.S., and we only get a week or so of those at best), and I already feel disappointed at the prospect of another one of these non-winters ahead of me as my yearly respite from the endless heat and blazing sun. Basically, it's a lot like Seasonal Affective Disorder (though I haven't been diagnosed with it - I haven't seen a doctor about this), but in reverse.

I am curious whether anyone else deals with this (extreme difficulty coping with summer), and if anyone has ideas on ways to cope with living in a hot climate...

I usually do all of my heavy lifting (running, walking) in the early morning and late afternoon. Occasionally, I go out at 2am to exercise. A friend of mine used to go to movies during the summer for the air conditioning. A lot of libraries, stores, and offices have really good air conditioning, so it barely feels like summer during the summer. Of course, I love the summer, so I may not notice the heat as much either.

[georgia_guy]

I'd be happy if the temperature never got below 80.  My "air conditioning" is set at 84.  I wear heavy clothes all spring and Fall.  Grocery stores, theatres, libraries and my office are so cold and clammy feeling to me (I keep a sweater in my office).

You sound like my sister in law. I was visiting once, and asked if their AC was broken, as I was looking right at the thermometer, and it said 82 degrees. She then told me that they keep it at 82 normally. I had to get a hotel room, because I could not stop sweating long enough to fall asleep.

[oldfullprof]

Exercise is great for helping your body cope with heat.  As someone said, do at night or in early morning.

[case_insensitive]

I'd be happy if the temperature never got below 80.  My "air conditioning" is set at 84.  I wear heavy clothes all spring and Fall.  Grocery stores, theatres, libraries and my office are so cold and clammy feeling to me (I keep a sweater in my office).

You sound like my sister in law. I was visiting once, and asked if their AC was broken, as I was looking right at the thermometer, and it said 82 degrees. She then told me that they keep it at 82 normally. I had to get a hotel room, because I could not stop sweating long enough to fall asleep.

People have very different comfort levels. My parents and one sibling keep their house around 70-71 in summer and a bit cooler in winter. Another sibling keeps hers closer to 80. I find 80 too hot indoors - perhaps because as a child my parents kept the house even cooler...