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When I get to the newsroom in the morning, even before I turn on my computer, I snap on the electric fan under my desk.

It blows cool air up my skirt like an ocean breeze in a sea of cubicles.

Some days, when it’s particularly hot, I put the fan on top of my desk and aim it at my glistening face, blowing my hair off my damp neck.

My co-worker Weldon walked by the other day and then backed up to tell me I look like I’m in a music video.

Right? I’m practically Beyoncé.

I’m a big fan of the fan. Without it, between our record hot temperatures and my hot flashes, I would implode and leave only a scorch mark on my swivel chair.

So I took offense at a new study published in the medical journal Annals of Internal Medicine that suggests if you live where it’s dry and hot, fans might hurt more than help.

It found the use of fans during hot, dry conditions was bad for body temperature, heart rate, body sweat rate and thermal comfort, proxies for handling heat.

When it’s dry, sweat evaporates quickly and fans speed up the process too much, according to the study, and that increases core temperature and cardiovascular strain.

Do I look stressed, my hands on the keyboard, hair flying, contact lenses drying out, shivery and refreshed?

I’m not buying it, no matter what the science says, because the study was small, just 12 participants, all men exposed to fan fare for two hours.

Really? No women?

The only way women would let go of our fans is when they are slipped out of our sweaty, dead fingers.

I love my lime-green fan, its constant breeze, the buzzing, click-clacking of it annoying my coworkers.

Because when things get hot, whether it’s rising temperatures or approaching deadlines, it keeps me chill.

Reach Bland at [email protected] or 602-444-8614. Follow her on Facebook and Twitter @KarinaBland.

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