How To Stay Hydrated: Tips For An Active Summer
It’s estimated that approximately 1/3 of non-pro athletes enter practices and competitions dehydrated. This dehydration can significantly impact performance, making it vital to understand the importance of staying hydrated. When you go about your busy day, you might notice symptoms such as dry eyes, fatigue, achy joints, and infrequent bowel movements, all of which are signs of dehydration.
Did you know that the adult human body is made up of anywhere from 55-60% fluid? That’s a lot of fluid and there’s a reason we have so much, it does a lot to help our bodies function properly. Let’s take a deeper dive into what exactly water does for our body!
The Importance of Water in the Body
What is the importance of water? Water plays several crucial roles in maintaining health and enhancing athletic performance:
Makes it easier for our body to absorb nutrients
Regulates body temperature
Keeps the tissues around our eyes, nose and mouth moistened
Helps carry nutrients and oxygen to different cells in our body
Protects our bodies organs and tissues
Allows the kidneys to function properly and puts less strain on them
Helps the body get rid of wastes through urination and bowel movements
Helps lubricate joints in your body
How Much Water Do We Need in a Day?
Fluid needs for adults vary greatly from person to person. It depends on multiple factors including your age, sex, activity level, current medications, health status, weather and how much you sweat when doing activities. The daily amount of water intake for adult males can be anywhere from 12 cups to 15.5 cups, whereas for adult females, it can be 9 cups to 11.5 cups. These amounts are just to maintain the normal physiological function of the body and do not take into consideration all the other factors listed above.
To know exactly how much fluid you should be consuming daily, you should work with a sports registered dietitian (RD). Especially if you are an athlete, ensuring you stay hydrated during workouts, competition days, and rest days is even more critical. Working with a sports RD can ensure you have the right hydration plan to perform at a competitive level.
Identify Dehydration in Yourself and Others
Since it is estimated that approximately 1/3 of non-pro athletes enter practices and competitions dehydrated, this makes it that much more important to identify dehydration in yourself and others. Did you know that the first sign of dehydration is feeling fatigued? This is one of the many signs that your body sends to you, saying, “Hey, we need some fluids in here!” Other common signs of dehydration include:
Fatigue or drowsiness
Feeling thirsty
Dry mouth, lips, eyes
Dizziness or Light-headedness
Decreased hand-eye coordination
Confusion or Irritability
Muscle cramps
Headache
Dark urine or low-volume urine infrequently
Infrequent bowel movements
Even when you are not working out or sweating, your body still uses fluids for several functions of the body. So, it is just as important to hydrate on rest days as it is on active days. If you are an athlete at any level, being hydrated can significantly impact your performance and training.
If you feel that you are constantly dehydrated or want to ensure you are getting the proper amount of fluids, meeting with a sports RD can help improve your hydration and ultimately your athletic performance.
Tips to Stay Hydrated This Summer
We all have busy schedules, whether we are an athlete, a parent running kids around, or a student trying to find time to study. Remembering to drink water throughout your day can be hard and easy to forget when we are distracted by life. But as we have learned, staying hydrated is critically important for our bodies. Here are some hydration hacks for staying hydrated throughout the day:
Set a timer on your phone to go off every 30 minutes and have a drink of water/ fluids when it does. You want to sip on fluids throughout the day rather than chugging water all at once at the end of the day.
Get a reusable water bottle and carry it around with you everywhere you go. (I like water bottles with straws because they are easy to sip on in the car or in work meetings. However, I like closed water bottles for activities like camping, kayaking or other places where the bottle will likely fall down. I like squirt bottles for cycling, mountain biking and running. Hydration packs are great too).
Don’t like the taste of water? Try adding lemon, mint, blueberries, or blackberries to add some delicious taste and nutrients.
Get fluids from other sources besides water. Eating a variety of fruits and vegetables can help meet your fluid needs. Fruits and vegetables such as watermelon, cantaloupe, oranges, bell peppers, lettuce, and cucumbers are excellent choices.
Include other fluids, besides water. Other fluids like chocolate milk, juice, coffee <500 mg caffeine, milk, smoothies and sports beverages also all count towards your fluid needs.
Drinking broth from your soup can help as well.
Eat foods that have salt in them and or consume beverages with salt. Salted pretzels, sports beverages, adding salt to food and smoothies. Try eating frozen, canned or packaged products which will generally have some more salt in them. (See next blog post on the importance of salt and other electrolytes in your diet for optimal hydration).
DON’T restrict salt in your diet (except if medically necessary in some situations). Salt (sodium chloride) is lost in your sweat. Since athletes sweat a lot, your salt (sodium chloride) needs are higher than non-athletes.
These are just a few ways that can help you start to get your hydration up throughout the day. If none of these seem realistic for you, meeting with an RD to discuss a more personalized plan to help increase your hydration is recommended.
The Impact of Dehydration on Performance
Dehydration can severely impact athletic performance and overall well-being. Athletic performance can be negatively impacted by dehydration at 1-2% of body weight water losses. For example, a 150-pound athlete who lost three pounds during a workout or competition could experience adverse dehydration effects. Here are some of the significant ways it affects the body:
Reduced Attention, Awareness, and Hand-Eye Coordination: Dehydration can impair cognitive functions and motor skills, making it harder to concentrate and react quickly. This can be particularly dangerous in sports requiring precise movements and quick decision-making.
Elevated Heart Rate: When dehydrated, the volume of blood circulating through your body decreases, causing your heart to work harder to pump blood. This can lead to an elevated heart rate and increased strain on the cardiovascular system.
Increased Risk for Overheating: Hydration is crucial for regulating body temperature. Without sufficient fluids, the body struggles to cool itself through sweating, increasing the risk of heat-related illnesses like heat exhaustion or heat stroke.
Overall Reduction in Power and Endurance: Muscles rely on water to function correctly. Dehydration can lead to muscle cramps, reduced strength, and diminished endurance, all of which negatively impact athletic performance.
Impact on Mood and Cognitive Function: Dehydration has been linked to mood swings, anxiety, and fatigue. Maintaining proper hydration helps ensure that your mental state is stable and that you can perform at your best both mentally and physically.
Higher Incidence of Injury: Dehydrated muscles and joints are more susceptible to strains and sprains. Proper hydration helps keep tissues lubricated and resilient, reducing the risk of injury during physical activities.
Understanding these impacts highlights the critical need for adequate hydration, especially during high-intensity activities and in hot weather. Ensuring that your body is well-hydrated can significantly improve both your physical and mental performance.
Final Thoughts on Staying Hydrated During the Summer Heat
Staying hydrated is essential for overall health and athletic performance, especially during the hot summer months. By understanding your fluid needs and implementing these hydration tips for summer, you can ensure you maintain proper hydration levels, which will help improve your performance and well-being. If you need personalized advice, don't hesitate to consult with a sports dietitian to develop a hydration plan that fits your lifestyle and activity level. This blog post focused on getting adequate fluid throughout the day as an active person, in the next series we will dive into what is in our sweat and why athletes in addition to needing more fluid, need more sodium and other electrolytes.
