To stay cool in the summer, follow this 2.5 million-year-old trick beloved by cavemen

That summer heat has arrived, and it is real. However, if you are opening all the windows and blinds to stay cool, not only are you doing it wrong, you could even be making the heat worse. What you can do instead, however, is adopt what is known as the “caveman method,” which is the exact opposite: close up the windows and blinds and turn your home into a regular Paleolithic lair to keep all the cool air in and bright light out.

The people we know as “cavemen” are actually Paleolithic humans who “lived in caves or simple huts or tepees and were hunters and gatherers,” according to The History Channel. But just as they had their caves, or cave-like dwellings, you’ll have yours too as you nestle into your cool, dark home that’s also filled with your own handmade paintings. Or, well, you can keep whatever decor you like, just remember the cool and dark part.

  Unfrozen Caveman Lawyer knows the best way to stay cool, even in a suit.  Giphy  

As Joseph Holman, the chief executive officer of sustainable door and window company Green Doors, told Tom’s Guide, "a cave is cool in heat waves because it is dark and doesn't have direct sunlight or a direct entrance for the heat. You want to probably mimic that…reduce sunlight and stop the movement of the outside air inside. Even switching off the lights will help you with that.”

In the same way that you don’t want your air conditioning to escape your sweaty clutches, Tom’s Guide says, you also don’t want to get the outside heat inside of your house. You can accomplish this with window coverings like tinted film, integral blinds, and canopies.

  Yes, it's true: Fred and Wilma live in a cave, too! WB, www.youtube.com  

Incidentally, this is really not too far off from how cavemen themselves kept cool. Their homes were not only caves per se, but were more like “natural rock shelters,” according to The History Channel, “roomy depressions cut into the walls of riverbeds beneath a protective overhang.” So, we are not too far off with the canopies, after all. Caves were and have always been places to keep cool. As the Stump Cross Caverns of the UK share, their temperature is consistent year-round, making them a hospitable environment to survive both heat and cold.

  Jack Black as Zed in Year One, where a cool breeze does him good.   Year One, gifdb.com  

Some early peoples, homo sapiens in particular, were also able to survive great climate change and even had their own kind of sunscreen to do it with. The latter was ochre, a pigment that has sun-shielding properties. As NBC KNDU shares, the usage of this pigment plus the homo sapiens’ ability to develop their equivalent of summer wear actually led to their survival; the Neanderthals didn’t come up with the same advents and they began to peter out around the same time.

What we’re saying is, if the early homo sapiens can survive the heat, you can, too. Just remember to find a cave of your own, batten down the hatches, seal that cool air in, and chill out. And if you do have to go outside, always remember to wear sunscreen–you could save your entire species.

  You'll want to stay frozen this summer, much unlike Brendan Fraser as Link in Encino Man.   JoBlo, www.youtube.com