Who doesn’t love summer – long days, sunny and warm weather, drinking cocktails on the beach. Still, the one thing about summer that isn’t that pleasant is the heat. Around noon my warm feelings towards the sun are gradually getting colder, because I feel like I’m going to literally melt down, can’t breathe and just want to be somewhere else at a cooler temperature. Nevertheless, sometimes you just have to handle the heat, especially when you live at a place where it’s inevitable not to deal with hot weather. The best way to do so is to be well hydrated and to avoid direct sunlight between 12:00 and 16:00. Here are 5 rules of good hydration that can save you from the heat:
Our bodies love water
Our bodies consist of nearly 70% water and they need it no matter the weather. When heated, our body cools with through breathing, sweating and through the excretory organs. The hotter the weather outside, the more water our body loses, the more water it needs. The good news is that our body is smart enough to let us know, when it needs water and to prevent us from losing water too quickly. The hypothalamus (the gland that regulates our body temperature), can detect when we have too little water in our blood and triggers the release of an anti-diuretic hormone that lets our kidneys know they have to through away less water. Our brain alarms us at this point we’re thirsty. If we drink water at this point, we’re fine. If not, we risk to get dehydrated.
How do I know, if I’m dehydrated?
Dry mouth, headache and dizziness are only part of the alarms our body sends us, when we’re dehydrated. When our body lacks water, the blood volume gets smaller, and so decreases our blood pressure, while our heartbeat gets higher. What actually happens at this point in our body is that all our internal systems start working really hard to keep us alive. Therefore we feel dizzy and fatigue.
How much water do we need?
The 8-glasses-of-water rule is valid as an average amount of water we need to drink a day. The nutritionists advise women to drink 11 glasses of water a day, men – 15. It’s important to know though that 20% of water comes with food, so we need to provide our bodies also with food that is rich in water.
Which foods hydrate us best?
It’s not a coincidence that watermelons are summer fruits – they contain 92% water, the rest are salts, magnesium and calcium, that make them an irreplaceable source of hydration for the body. Cucumbers are even richer in water – 96%, no saturated fats or cholesterol and lots of vitamin K, B6 and iron. Fruit and vegetable smoothies are also a good option for hydration for those in a hurry – just blend it all and take it with you!
What doctors say
Doctors advise us to have a clear plan on how to hydrate ourselves during summer and to stick to it carefully. They recommend to start our day with plenty of water, before breakfast. It may contain also some lemon in order to help our digestion. Don’t drink too much coffee, when it’s hot – beside the fact it’s a diuretic, it increases your body temperature which isn’t recommendable during the summer. If you plan any physical exercise while it’s hot outside, drink plenty of water before, during and after the training, in order to recover from the water loss in time.
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