Your body cannot function without water. Every cell, tissue and organ needs it to do its job.
Hydration is the most basic need the human body has. Your body is roughly 60% water. When you exercise you dehydrate quickly, but even when you do nothing the water level in your body keeps dropping. That is why it matters to keep drinking and hold that level steady.
Staying properly hydrated is not obvious when you are walking a remote trail or working hard. Some people struggle with it even on an ordinary day at the office.
What does good hydration give you?
It keeps your body moving: it lubricates your joints and flushes out waste.
It gives you strength, energy and endurance.
It helps you stay cool during exertion.
You recover faster afterwards.
You go further and faster when you drink regularly.
How do you lose water?
Going to the toilet and sweating are the obvious ones, but you also lose water vapour with every breath. That loss speeds up in extreme heat, during physical effort and when you are ill. Vomiting and diarrhoea are the main causes of severe dehydration while travelling.
How do you know you are dehydrated?
Feeling thirsty? A dry mouth is the first sign that your water level is falling. Your body is simply telling you to drink.
Ignore that first signal and your body will try other ways to get your attention:
- Darker urine
- An extremely dry mouth
- Headache, an important sign to start drinking as soon as possible
At later stages these symptoms are added:
- Cramps in muscles and organs
- Dizziness and light headedness
- Confusion
- Mental exhaustion and no tears when crying
How do you prevent dehydration?
Drink in good time, roughly two hours before your effort.
Drink regularly. Not large amounts at once, but frequent small sips.
During exercise you can add a sports drink to your fluid intake. It helps replace carbohydrates and electrolytes.
Drink after the effort too. That restores your body fluids and speeds up recovery.
Always carry your own water when you are working hard, in a bottle or a hydration bladder that fits your pack.
What do you do when you are dehydrated?
ORS tablets or powder, oral rehydration solution, belong in your first aid kit. Read the instructions and add the right amount to your water. The product contains glucose, salts and electrolytes so your body absorbs the water as effectively as possible.
Keep rehydrating through the night if you need to. Drink regularly in small sips rather than large gulps: your body needs time to process the water.
Avoid coffee and tea, they dehydrate you further.
Can you drink too much?
Drinking too much water does have negative consequences. In overhydration the sodium level in your blood drops, diluting it too far and disrupting cell function. In extreme cases that can lead to a coma or even death.
How much water do you need?
The right amount depends on where you are, what you are doing and the temperature.
On an ordinary office day you generally need two litres. Exercising in summer pushes that to three or four. And it is not only heat that dries you out: a freezing environment has the same effect.
Drinking enough? Check your urine
If your urine is consistently colourless or pale yellow, you are most likely well hydrated. Dark yellow or amber urine is a sign of dehydration.
Water is not the only way to stay hydrated. It is always the best choice, but other drinks and foods help too, even if they sometimes add calories or sugar. Fruit and vegetable juice, milk and herbal tea all contribute to your fluid balance. Even caffeinated drinks count: 200 to 300 milligrams of caffeine, roughly 0.4 litres of coffee, is harmless for most people. Drink more than that and you will need the toilet more often, which dries you out faster.
In closing
Water is the real fuel your body runs on.
Always make sure you drink clean water. Choose bottled water where you can. At home you can usually trust the tap, but that is not the case everywhere in the world.
If you have to drink water you are not sure about, filter it first and kill as many bacteria as you can. You can do that by boiling it, using a uv filter pen or adding water purification tablets.
And remember to keep an eye on yourself and your travel companions for signs of dehydration.