Staying Hydrated: 5 Facts You Need to Know

Staying hydrated in the warm, summer months is a top priority for many. Summer sports leagues, trips to the beach, regular exercise, and even household chores and gardening can leave you dehydrated on warmer days.

Fifty-five to sixty percent of your body is water. To stay healthy, you must continually replace fluids lost through normal body functions like sweating, urinating, healing, and replacing basic structures like blood cells and skin cells. If you neglect to take in enough water, even for a short period of time, you will experience sign of dehydration. To help you stay healthy and hydrated, here are five facts about staying hydrated that you may not know.

1. More water, please! When the temperature climbs, so should your water intake. Coffee, tea, soda pop, and juices may taste good, but they aren’t adequate substitutes for clean, pure water. Be sure to drink 8-12 glasses of water in addition to your other beverages of choice.
2. Water follows sodium. If you consume foods or beverages with higher sodium quantities, you can actually dehydrate yourself despite drinking plenty of water. Water follows sodium, and when your sodium levels are high, your body will push fluid into the interstitial spaces in your tissue, like your hands, feet, and lower legs. This will cause swelling in your face and extremities, and a dehydration of your vital organs. Avoid sodium during warmer weather to receive the full benefits of the water you consume.
3. If you will be doing an activity that will result in active sweating for an extended period of time, you will need to replenish your fluids every few minutes. If you neglect your water bottle, you can significantly dehydrate yourself in a matter of a few minutes unless you drink enough to replace what you are losing. Try drinking 6-8 hours of water every 15 minutes during strenuous exercise in hot weather.
4. A mild to moderate headache is often the first sign of dehydration. Other signs include hunger, dry mouth, irritability, mental cloudiness or confusion, weakness and fatigue. Others may notice a sudden pallor to your skin, and some people complain of incessant itching and even hallucinations.
5. Many people confuse dehydration for hunger. If you feel hungry in between meals, try drinking a full glass of water and waiting a few minutes to see if the urge to snack goes away. Some people lose the ability to differentiate between hunger and thirst, especially if they frequently experience mild dehydration.

Staying hydrated is an important part of staying healthy. Your body relies on a steady, continual source of water intake to operate at its full potential. If you live in a warm weather climate, be sure to take extra precautions to stay hydrated.

Jamie Simmerman is a registered nurse and freelance writer. Follow her on Twitter

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