1. By the time you feel thirsty, we are already partly dehydrated. Humans are poor thirst detectors. We often mistake thirst for hunger.
2. Next time you are hungry, try drinking a large glass of pure, clean water to see if that hunger is mistakenly assumed. Our body’s drive to drink is not nearly as powerful as our drive to eat. Therefore, we must plan to drink often.
3. Early signs of dehydration include:
Fatigue Appetite loss
Flushed skin Heat intolerance
Light-headedness Dark urine with a strong odour
4. Severe signs include:
Difficulty swallowing Delirium
Clumsiness Shrivelled skin
Sunken eyes and dim vision Painful urination
Numb skin Muscle spasms
5. You should drink a minimum of 6-8, 8 ounce glasses of clean, filtered water per day.
6. Try to fill your water bottle at the beginning of the day and have it with you throughout the day. You never know when it could come in handy (see below)!
7. Avoid drinking with meals, as this dilutes your digestive juices!
8. Before exercise, drink 1 to 2 cups of water 2 hours prior to exercise and another 1-1 ½ cups immediately before exercise.
9. During exercise, drink 1 half to 1 cup of water every 15-20 minutes while exercising. After exercise, replace any fluid you may have lost. Drink 2 cups of water for every pound of body weight you lost.
10. Being thirsty lowers VO2 max. Being thirsty causes muscle cramping.
12. When you're thirsty, the body pulls water out of the joints to get the water it needs for energy production, leaving you more at risk of cartilage damage, including the discs in your back.