Against a heatwave, the best trick isn’t to grit your teeth: it’s to get organised. Air the house in the small hours and at dawn, while the air is still cool, and by mid-morning close the windows and draw the blinds or curtains — the house becomes a cave and can stay several degrees cooler than outside.
The heat isn’t beaten by whoever puts up with it longest, but by whoever plans best.
The rest of the routine: move the demanding jobs (exercise, errands, cooking) to first thing in the morning; cool your wrists and the back of your neck with cold water when it gets bad — the pulse points cool the whole body quickly —; and at night, a lukewarm shower (not ice-cold, which wakes you up) and cotton sheets. All free, all from today.
Start today: blinds down by mid-morning, windows open on opposite sides at night. Free can be cool too.