How much water you should Drink while Exercising ?
During exercise, your body produces heat, which causes you to sweat in order to cool down. Sweating is your body’s way of regulating your internal temperature, but it also leads to fluid loss. If you don’t replace the fluids you lose through sweating by drinking enough water, you can become dehydrated.
Dehydration can have negative effects on your performance, including decreased endurance, increased fatigue, and impaired cognitive function. Severe dehydration can even lead to heat exhaustion or heat stroke, which are medical emergencies.
To determine how much water you need to drink while exercising, you should consider several factors:
- Exercise intensity and duration: The more intense and longer your exercise session, the more fluid you will lose through sweat, so you will need to drink more water to stay hydrated.
- Body size: Larger people generally require more water than smaller people to stay hydrated.
- Environmental conditions: If you are exercising in hot and humid conditions, you will lose more fluid through sweat and will need to drink more water to stay hydrated.
- Personal factors: Some people may naturally sweat more than others, which means they will need to drink more water to compensate for the additional fluid loss.
As a general guideline, it is recommended to drink 17-20 ounces (500-600 ml) of water 2-3 hours before exercising, and to drink an additional 7-10 ounces (200-300 ml) of water 10-20 minutes before exercising. During exercise, you should aim to drink 7-10 ounces (200-300 ml) of water every 10-20 minutes, especially if you are exercising for longer than 30 minutes.
However, if you are exercising intensely or in hot and humid weather, you may need to drink more water to stay properly hydrated. It is also important to listen to your body and drink water when you feel thirsty. Keep in mind that thirst is not always a reliable indicator of dehydration, so it is best to drink water regularly throughout your exercise session.
Overall, staying properly hydrated is an important part of any exercise regimen, and drinking enough water before, during, and after exercise can help you perform at your best and avoid dehydration-related health issues.