Fluids keep your body hydrated; without them, your body won’t function at its best. If you don’t drink enough fluid:
- Your body temperature and heart rate may rise. That’s because when the total amount of water in your body is below the normal level (hypohydration) your body can’t properly regulate heat.
- You may feel more fatigued than usual.
- You may not be able to think clearly – your motor control, decision-making abilities, and concentration may be impaired.
- Your body’s functions may slow down – this includes gastric emptying, so you may feel uncomfortable in your stomach.
- Your performance in sport or exercise may not be as good as it could be. The impact is even worse when you’re active and dehydrated in hot conditions.
The simple solution is, of course, to drink enough fluids when you exercise. Make fluid replacement a priority when you’re physically active.
Drinking enough fluids will help to maintain your concentration and performance, increase your endurance, and prevent excessive elevations in heart rate and body temperature. It’s all about sufficient hydration.
What hydration means
The amount of water you need depends on a range of factors, such as climatic conditions, your health, your clothing, your exercise intensity, and duration. So, being well hydrated will differ per person and situation.
As a guide, you probably need more fluid if:
- you sweat heavily
- you have certain medical conditions, such as diabetes or heart disease
- you have cystic fibrosis, which means you have a high concentration of sodium in your sweat
- you are using a medication that can act as a diuretic, causing your body to lose more fluid
- you have a bigger body size
- you are fit (because fitter people tend to sweat more and earlier in their exercise)
- you are doing vigorous exercise
- you are active in hot or humid conditions.
Thirst isn’t the best indicator that you need to drink. If you feel thirsty, you are probably already dehydrated.
A good test of dehydration is the color of your urine. If it’s pale and clear it means you’re well hydrated. The darker it is, the more fluid you need to drink.
Another sign of dehydration is a lack of sweat during vigorous activity when you expect to sweat. No sweating is a sign that you’re both dehydrated and probably suffering heat exhaustion.
What dehydration means
Dehydration occurs when your body’s water content is too low. Here are some body signals that indicate you haven’t had enough fluid:
- headaches
- fatigue
- mood changes
- slow reaction times
- dry nasal passages
- dry or cracked lips
- dark-colored urine
- muscle cramps
- weakness
- confusion
- hallucinations.
If you experience any of these symptoms, you may need to increase your fluid intake.
If you don’t rehydrate, your physical and mental performance is likely to be affected. A loss of fluid equal to two percent of body mass is enough to cause a detectable decrease in performance. A loss of fluid equal to more than two percent means you risk nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, and other gastrointestinal problems.
It’s not possible to train your body to handle dehydration, so don’t delay fluid replacement to ‘get used to dehydration’. When you need water, you need it!
