By Haley Heisley

Salty air, wind in my hair and the sound of seagulls and waves crashing against the shore – the beach is my favorite place to be in the summer. With Southeasten PA being only a couple hours drive from most Jersey shore destinations, beaches are popular vacation spots in the summertime.

If you’re heading to the beach and are not properly packed and prepared, I can almost guarantee you’ll leave with a sunburn, feeling dehydrated, hungry and exhausted. Even when it’s cloudy out, UV indexes and humidity levels can leave your body feeling weak and exhausted.

Being out in the sun also dehydrates your body quicker, which makes keeping your body hydrated very important. Dehydration puts you at risk for low energy, heat-related illnesses, mental fog, weight gain, headaches, skin damage and so much more. In addition to dehydration, not wearing sun block and getting a sunburn puts you at risk for sun poisoning, skin cancer premature aging, skin discoloration, scarring and immune system suppression.

Ways to keep your body happy and healthy while on the beach are:

• Drink adequate fluids and water
• Eat enough food
• Apply sunblock
• Stay in the shade of an umbrella as much as possible
• Wear a hat to protect your scalp from burning
• Pack a shirt with sleeves to put on over your bathing suit, and
• Try to avoid being in direct sunlight during the sun’s strongest time of day – from around noon to 5 p.m.

The sun isn’t the only thing for which we should learn safety tips; water as well. How many times have you been out in the ocean swimming and having a good time and then you find yourself so much further down the beach than you remembered? Now all of a sudden you don’t know where your stuff is or how to get back. The ocean may have strong currents without you even realizing it. It can pull you out into deeper water and to the side where you did not even plan on going. Before you know it, you can’t even swim strong enough against it.

Being a strong swimmer, wearing a life jacket, only swimming when there is a lifeguard and always being with an adult or others is so important. Paying attention to where you are when you are in the ocean, and being aware of what sea creatures are near the shore are very important.

So when you are packing your beach bag, don’t forget the cooler with ice water, electrolyte drinks, sandwiches and your tote bag full of sunblock, life jackets, a bright bathing suit to be easily spotted, a hat and sunglasses.