By Therese Iknoian

I dread my summer business trips to the likes of Orlando or Atlanta. Why? The air is so thick I feel as if I can't breathe. And outdoor exercise gets tough unless you're used to it.

Humidity complicates life and heat acclimatization -- How many times have you been admonished to exercise in the morning when it's hot? Oh, yeah, me too. Guess what? When it's humid, that little credo doesn't necessarily apply. Choose evenings, the later the better.

Here's how that meteorologic strangeness works. Relative humidity is the ratio of how much moisture is in the air compared to the air's maximum moisture-holding capacity. When it's warmer (as in the evenings) the air can hold more, driving the percent down. Confused? Me too. How about an example.

Let's pretend it's 50 degrees at 6 a.m. and the air could hold 10 units of moisture. If there are six units of moisture in the air, the percentage is six divided by 10, or 60 percent humidity. At 8 p.m., let's say it's 60 degrees and the air could hold 12 units. But there are still six units in the air. Six divided by 12 is 50 percent, or 10 percent less humidity.

Enough from Mr. Science for today. The bottom line is to pay attention to the signals from your body (or your child's). If you're out there and you feel miserable, listen up because your body is trying to tell you something.

© 1999 Therese Iknoian; All Right Reserved