Why Summer Makes You Snappy (And How to Cool Your Inner Fire)
4 min read.
Short-cut to the quiz here: Summer Mood Quiz
Maybe you’ve noticed that as the mercury climbs, your patience drops. You might find yourself snapping at your partner over a small mess, or feeling a surge of irritation when an email hits your inbox at 4:55 PM. Why am I so frustrated today? Is it just the heat, or is it me?
What Does Heat Do?
Europe just experience a record-breaking heat wave at the start of this summer (last week). In Canada & US, we are set for the thermometer readings to spike over 40C, jolting us into full on summer sweltering heat. And while we can debate whether global warming is real or not, the reality is the heat impacts us in many more ways that just 'feeling hot'. Read more...
Many people notice that as summer heat builds, patience gets thinner. You may find yourself snapping at your partner over a small mess, feeling irritated by a busy inbox, or wondering why everything suddenly feels more intense. Or its the red car zipping past you as the driver mutters something you'd rather ignore. Sometimes it is the heat. Sometimes it is a sign that your system is already carrying too much.
With stronger heatwaves showing up more often across Canada, the US, and Europe, many of us feel the effects in both body and mind. Ayurveda looks at this through the lens of Pitta. When Pitta rises too high, it can show up as irritability, sharp words, restlessness, skin sensitivity, or digestive upset.
What Pitta Imbalance Can Feel Like
As Canadians, we really love summer and look forward to the warm months after winter hibernation. In my practice as a naturopathic doctor & Ayurvedic here, I often meet people who assume their summer mood changes are just personality or stress when actually, it is an accumulation of heat in the mind and body. That is why an Ayurvedic approach can be so helpful. It helps connect the dots between burnout, emotional reactivity, digestion, sleep, and daily routines.
If you have been feeling more judgmental, more reactive, or simply more “on edge,” you may be noticing a Pitta flare. Taking the Summer Mood Quiz can offer a simple first step in understanding which pattern feels most familiar right now.
5 Ways to Cool the Fire This Week
To move through summer with more ease, Ayurveda encourages the qualities that balance heat: coolness, softness, steadiness, and space. If you are looking for practical Ayurveda for busy lives, these simple shifts can help support your nervous system and digestion.
Skip the cold drinks. While it might sound counterintuitive, ice cold drinks can be hard on agni, or digestive fire, especially when your system is already running hot. Try room temperature water with something cooling like cucumber or mint instead.
Eat with the season. Summer is a good time to enjoy sweet, bitter, and astringent foods such as watermelon, leafy greens, asparagus, and coconut. These foods can feel lighter and more balancing when the weather is intense. Spices like cumin, coriander seeds, fennel are cooling while still strengthening for digestion. Juicy summer fruits are the perfect natural 'coolant'.
Protect your sleep. Ayurveda teaches that Pitta time runs from 10 PM to 2 AM. Staying up late can leave you feeling wired and more reactive the next day. A calmer evening routine can make a real difference. Sleeping by 10 PM allows your system to cleanse the pitta in your organs as you sleep.
Adjust your workouts. If intense exercise or hot yoga feels draining, try a gentle swim, an evening walk, or a restorative yoga practice instead. Doing peak exercise at the hottest part of the day is not advised in Ayurveda (yet the lunch hour is when the Pitta people want to get their workouts in as scheduled!)
Use cooling natural scents. Rose, lavender, sandalwood, and jasmine are traditionally used in Ayurveda to support a more settled mind and a softer emotional state. Keep a bottle of rose mist by your work desk or car to spritz as often as needed. It will refresh you instantly!
Support for Summer Burnout and Digestive Reset
Summer is meant to feel energizing and refreshing, but for many people it can also bring burnout, short tempers, poor sleep, and digestion that feels unsettled. If that sounds familiar, it may be time to look at your habits through an Ayurvedic lens and see what your body is asking for.
If you’ve been feeling more judgmental or "on edge" lately, you’re likely experiencing a Pitta flare-up. To help you understand how this fire shows up uniquely in your life, I’ve developed the Summer Mood Quiz an excerpt from my new book, Cool the Fire: Your Ayurvedic Summer Guide.
If you are already familiar with Ayurveda, this quiz will help you understand — based on your dosha type (vata, pitta, kapha) — how do you respond in the summer Pitta season. And if you are lucky to be a Pitta, then you've got more work to do this summer !!
Cool the Fire includes practical worksheets, quizzes, and simple guides you can actually use in real life, so you’re not just reading about Ayurveda, you’re applying it to your meals, schedule, sleep, and summer routines.
Ready to understand your patterns and cool things down? You can grab your copy of Cool the Fire here.
Start your summer off right !
If you want to identify your dosha type, understand your health issues through the lens of Ayurveda, and move from surviving to thriving, you can work with Dr. Leena Sripada, ND and book your consultation here.