Throughout the day, humans lose water by breathing and sweating. If an individual leads an active lifestyle, water is lost at an increased rate. Keeping hydrated is extremely important in order to lead a healthy lifestyle, and keep your body running optimally. To check and make sure that you are hydrated enough during the day, there are three simple ways to check.
First, note the color of your urine, and how often you are relieving yourself. If one is completely hydrated, the urine will be very pale yellow in color. For those that need to incorporate more water into their daily routine, urine will appear dark in color. To be completely hydrated, you should be expelling pale yellow urine every three to five hours during the day.
The second way to check if you are hydrated is to get on the scale! You can check your fluid loss by weighing yourself before your increased activity, and immediately after your workout. Your weight before your workout, minus your weight after your workout, equals the amount of your fluid loss. Typically, weight checks are done in the same clothing and with dry hair. For every pound lost during increased activity, you should drink three cups of water.
Lastly, you can assess your hydration by checking your skin elasticity. To use this method, you pinch the sin on the back of your hand, using your thumb and index finger. Hold it for a few seconds before letting go. If your skin goes back to normal immediately, you are hydrated. FI your skin takes a few seconds to go back to its original form, you should drink some water!
If you are not hydrated you may experience dizziness, rapid heart rate, headache, and muscle cramps. Drinking some additional water will help to alleviate these symptoms, and get you back on the right track.
Water is vital for life, so it is important to make sure that you are getting enough of it. If you fail to recognize the symptoms of slight dehydration, you could encounter more serious side effects and need to be seen by a medical professional for relief. Those with a moderate activity level should be drinking around eight, eight ounce glasses of water per day to maintain hydration. This will change depending on temperature, humidity, and activity level. Perform the simple tests above to keep your hydration levels at their prime state!
