Dehydration is one really common reason you might not be feeling at your best. While it’s easy to hydrate, many of us exist in a low level of semo-dehydration, experiencing symptoms like dry mouth, thirst, headaches and mental fog. If you don’t do something about the situation when you’re just feeling sub-par, then you can slip into more advanced state of dehydration which can cause dizziness, vomiting, confusion and unconsciousness.
To avoid you falling victim to such a state today we’re looking at five times when you need to rehydrate, so you’re aware for the future.
At Work
At work it’s easy to ignore your body’s need for regular hydration, even as the demands of the working environment can make it more important than ever. From long meetings, to tasks you need to focus on finishing, the office is full of distractions from your basic human needs, as well as air conditioning, that regulates the temperature at the cost of drying out the air, and burning through your fluid reserves.
Try keeping a water bottle at your desk to sip from regularly – some so-called smart bottles even come with reminders to let you know it’s time for a drink!
In the Gym
Working out raises your body temperature, and in compensation, you start sweating – as the sweat evaporates, it cools your skin. Athletes can sweat between 0.5 to 1.8 litres of sweat in a workout! This leads to a net loss in your fluid levels and the risk of dehydration.
Rehydrating with a sports drink or a specialised product like ORS Sport after a workout will top up your fluid levels and balance your electrolytes – the soluble salts contained in your fluids that make your sweat taste salty!
When You’re Hungover
Many of the symptoms of a hangover are caused by dehydration: alcohol is a diuretic which means it causes your body to shed its water reserves through sweating and urination. This means when you wake up, you’re severely dehydrated, to the extent that your brain cells contract and your shrinks, causing the headaches that so often follow a night out.
Taking hydration tablets for hangover symptoms can help to ease the worst of them by rehydrating you, refilling your electrolyte reserves and flushing the post-alcohol toxins out of your system.
During Heatwaves
Extreme heat is becoming more of a feature of British summers, with the Met Office now adding a new category of extreme weather warning to alert people to the risks. If you’re not careful, it’s easy to succumb to dehydration during the heat, especially if you’re not taking other precautions to keep cool.
Keep a drink of water near you as you go about your day, and stay topped up so you don’t edge into dehydration as the heat increases.
When You’re Sick
If you’re feeling unwell, then it’s important to keep hydrated. If you have a fever or an upset stomach, then you’re losing fluids and may not be focussed on rehydrating. Try to keep a jug of water by your sickbed so you don’t need to get up whenever you need to refill your glass so you can stay hydrated and recover more quickly.
