Hydrate Yourself Properly in 2021

1. Dehydration is underestimated as a performance diminisher.
   • Let’s start on a positive note. Water’s free in so many ways. Calorie free, caffeine free, free to consume when from the tap and we’re blessed that it is readily available to us.
   • Despite this, many people have a coffee in the morning and then no other liquid until lunch time.
   • Waiting until you feel thirsty is a bad approach because at this point performance is already impaired.

2. How much should I drink?

   • Peak performance specialist Ron Friedman recommends ½ ounce to an ounce of water for every pound you weigh.
   • Let’s take a 75kg female and convert that to pounds which is 165 then dividing by two we get 82.5 ounces of water which converts to 2.44 litres to Europeanise the example 😊
   • You may need to consume more on a day when you are exercising more or the weather is warmer than usual.
     

      

3. The urine rule – another hydration level indicator.

(Source of image above is the Greater Manchester Nutrition and Hydration programme)

4. Does tea and coffee count towards hydration?
   • A regular cup of tea will have a net hydrating effect due to the favourable ratio of water to caffeine. It should not be relied upon for hydration.
   • A shot of espresso does not have such a favourable ratio and thus would not be hydrating.
   • It appears caffeinated drinks might have a small diuretic effect which means they may cause the need to urinate more often. Despite this they don't appear to increase the risk of dehydration unless we use them as a water replacement instead of as a supplement to our fluid intake.

5. Best way to flavour water.

   • In my opinion the best way to flavour water is with fresh mint and cucumber – it is amazingly refreshing. Some people don’t particularly like the neutral flavour of water so this livens it up a bit…
   • Using dilute orange is not a good solution on account of the sheer amount of sugar in it. This is a health diminishing habit that is well worth kicking and can be a relatively easy win.

6. Health seeking habit with a dual benefit.

   • Always have a bottle on your desk to remind you to drink water. The knock-on benefit is that it is a good excuse to leave the desk for 2-3 minutes every hour and up the step count at the same time.

7. Other helpful hints.

   • Your body wants hydration first thing in the day and nothing else. Dedicate that first hour to getting a couple of glasses in to cleanse your system and begin the hydration process.
   • If you’re sensitive to caffeine then a good rule of thumb is no caffeinated beverages after 14.00. ½ of the caffeine will still be in your system 5-6 hours after consumption which is the reason many of us find that it can have a disruptive impact on our sleep (source – Ron Friedman).

If you are interested in continous improvement and always trying to be a better person then my course called the Peak Performance Code may be of interest to you.