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We’ve got a bit of a heatwave here in the UK. Humidity is high, and staying hydrated can be a struggle, especially when nobody is used to the heat! It may not seem like a big deal, but you need to take hydration seriously, and in this heat, even more so. If you’re dehydrated, you’ll be far more susceptible to headaches, fatigue and heat stroke.
Hot weather unsurprisingly leads to people sweating more – meaning they’re losing valuable water from their body that is essential to proper body function. The water that is lost through sweat always needs to be replaced or there can be serious consequences. So, if you’re an athlete, or even just enjoy exercising, make sure that you keep a water bottle on hand if you’re working out in this warm weather.
Every day, your daily water intake must be balanced with your daily water loss, especially in this heat. With just 2% water loss, you would start to feel exhausted, or even experience mild cardiovascular issues. Not something you want when you just want to be enjoying the sunshine.
Due to the nasty consequences of becoming dehydrated in the heat, it’s essential you stay properly hydrated. Drink consistently and regularly throughout the day to stave off dehydration. On a regular day, experts recommend drinking at least 5 glasses of water. However, the hotter it is, the more you need to drink. If you’re sweating more, due to the heat, you need to drink more. Around 6-8 glasses should be sufficient in hot weather.
Unfortunately, by the time you actually start to feel thirsty, it’s normally too late. By this point, your body is already heading towards dehydration. As such, it’s vital to ensure you drink on hot days, even when you don’t feel like you need to.
Here are some extra tips to help you avoid hydration this summer:
Keep a big bottle of Billi still or sparkling water on your desk all day, and set yourself goals of how much to drink. For example, by lunchtime, you should have drunk 3/4 of the bottle – roughly 2 glasses.
Avoid drinking alcohol if you can. This can be a struggle with all the summer BBQ’s and beer gardens beckoning you, but try and resist. Alcohol can really dehydrate you, meaning your hangover will be even worse the next day, as the heat will make it worse! If you do insist on drinking, make sure to gulp down plenty of water before and after to minimise the effects of the hangover.
Try to eat a vegetable-rich diet during the summer. Salads and such have a high water content because they contain lots of vegetables, which are made up of mainly – you guessed it, water! Water can be consumed it plenty of other ways other than simply being drunk. And, if you get bored of still water, there’s always sparkling water too. Our taps produce both at the touch of a button. Perfect for keeping your workforce hydrated in this hot weather.