Have you ever wondered why 98° air feels uncomfortably hot — even though our resting body temperature is also about 98°?
I wondered about this. So I looked it up.
Turns out, our bodies are constantly producing heat — just by thinking, moving, even digesting lunch. And in order to stay at a healthy temperature, that heat has to go somewhere.
When the surrounding air is cooler — say 70° — it gives our body the margin it needs to offload the excess and return to equilibrium.
But if the air outside is also 98°?
There’s no place for that heat to go.
So we start overheating — fast.
This is exactly what happens in high-pressure work environments.
You’re constantly generating stress, emotion, and urgency just by doing your job — responding to Slack messages, juggling deadlines, preparing for tough conversations.
And when your surroundings are equally hot — back-to-back meetings, fire drills, last-minute requests — you don’t have a way to release the pressure you’re carrying.
You stay in a heightened state.
Your system never resets.
And eventually, you burn out.
The fix isn’t just working less.
It’s building cool zones into your day:
- Adding a few 15-minute buffers to reset and remember your priorities.
- Going for a short walk to move your body and reset your mood.
- Eating lunch somewhere besides your desk.
These aren’t luxuries. They’re part of the heat exchange system that allows your mind and nervous system to function well.
Because without them, you’re always running hot.
And when you’re always hot, your thinking gets reactive, your decisions get worse, and your relationships become more transactional.
Where are you running hot lately?
And what’s one simple habit you could add — even a 5-minute one — to give your system the space to cool?
