Tomorrow is the first day of summer!
Summertime is the perfect opportunity to soak in all that warm sunshine, spend time with friends and family outdoors, and enjoy seasonal fruits and vegetables. But it’s also important to remember how crucial hydration is for your overall health and well-being—especially when temperatures ramp up. Here is all you need to know about staying hydrated this summer!
Did you know that your body is made up of about 60 percent water? That’s a lot of water! But it’s not likely that you will keep that same amount of water weight all the time. The human body constantly loses water throughout the day, mainly through sweat and urination, but also from regular body functions like breathing.
To help replenish that water lost, it is important to drink plenty of water during the day. If you don’t, you will end up dehydrated, which happens when you don’t drink enough fluid, or you lose more fluid than you take in. Being dehydrated can be serious and lead to various health problems. You could even end up hospitalized depending on the severity of your dehydration. To prevent dehydration, you need to get plenty of water from drinking and eating every day.
Proper hydration helps your body maintain homeostasis and supports brain function and mood. Hydration needs vary from person to person and depend on heat, humidity, and your individual physical activity levels. Some health experts recommend the eight-by-eight rule, which simply states to drink eight glasses of eight-ounces of water per day. Though it is easy to remember, it may not apply to everyone. Because there are so many variables, it is easier to suggest individuals consume 0.5 to one ounce of water per pound of body weight each day.
Those who play sports or work outdoors in the heat should at least drink one ounce of fluid per pound of bodyweight. This is because they are losing a lot more water through sweat. Thirst may not kick in until we’re already dehydrated, so be sure to drink plenty of water throughout the day and maybe even eat some watermelon.
Whatever your plans are this summer, make sure you stay cool this summer by drinking plenty of liquids, being mindful of heat exhaustion symptoms, and gaining access to cold water sources whenever possible.
For more information on how to keep hydrated, click here.
Article written by William Graves.