I'm sure you were breathing a huge sigh of relief after my harrowing story last time about almost crashing because of dehydration. Yes, it was very dramatic. There should be a movie made about it. (Note the thick layer of sarcasm).
Anyways, I wanted to discuss dehydration a little more and what you can do to prevent it.
A lot of times we will judge our hydration levels with thirst. If we are thirsty, then we start drinking water to try and off-set it. Thirst is a delayed response. By the time you are thirsty, you are already starting down the path of dehydration. There was a study done on pediatric athletes and it showed that 2/3 of the athletes observed were already dehydrated BEFORE they started practice. Better indications are nausea, headaches, weakness, general irritability, cramps, and decreased performance to name a few.
The amount of hydration will vary based on the type of sport you are playing (wearing helmets or pads will be different than playing basketball), the weather conditions (is it hot, humid), the intensity of the activity, and the amount of chances the athlete gets to replenish fluids. Distance events will be different than say a basketball game where there are timeouts and substitutions.
So how do we determine if someone is getting hydrated?
One way is to weigh a properly hydrated athlete prior to their activity. Assuming they are properly hydrated, they should only lose 2% or less of their body weight during the activity. Even at a 1-2% loss of weight, the athlete's performance starts to hinder a bit. Greater than a 3% loss the athlete further disturbs the physiologic function and increases the chance for heat cramps. Anything past a 5% loss can lead to potential heat stroke.
This is why you will see athletic trainers weigh football players before and after practice during double sessions. They want to see how much weight is lost and make the necessary adjustments to the athletes hydration procedures.
The other way to determine the athlete's hydration is by urine. Lighter colored urine is great, darker colored urine isn't. The better indicator though is the weight loss.
To prevent this dehydration, you want to make sure you are drinking fluids (16-20 ounces) 2-3 hours before activity. Drink another 8-10 ounces 15-20 minutes before the activity and then 8-10 ounces every 15-20 minutes during the activity. After the activity, you should drink a good sports drink that has carbohydrates, electrolytes, and sodium to get back all your physiological functions. Ideally, you want to drink 25-50 percent more than what you lost during sweat to get you back to proper hydration levels.
Sports drinks that have carbohydrate concentration levels less than 8% (that way it doesn't upset your stomach), sodium, and proper electrolytes seem to work best, especially with children. Served cold, kids seemed to stay better hydrated with the sports drink than just plain, cold water. Basically, because it tasted better they would drink 90% more of it than just water. I use Advocare's Rehydrate to re-fuel my body. It tastes great, is low in sugar, has 100mg of sodium, and I really suck it down even if it isn't during an activity. You can get some and read about it here http://advocare.com/07111072.
I would avoid fruit juices, sodas, and sports drinks with carbohydrate concentrations greater than 8%.
If you are doing a distance event or an activity in extreme heat, sodium is even more important, and you want to make sure you get even more of sodium with salt tablets or salty foods including a sport drink. When the sodium balance in your body doesn't tip favorably for you, you lose the ability to transmit nerve impulses and proper muscle function. Cramping becomes even more prevalent, such as what I experienced last week. So get the sodium in during those conditions.
I hope that helps you out. Let me know if you have questions, but after reading this, I shouldn't hear about any of you cramping out or getting dehydrated during your event.
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