IMPORTANCE OF HYDRATION

Staying hydrated is essential for everyone, but athletes have an even greater need to maintain proper hydration. Water is the most important nutrient for life and has many important functions including regulating temperature, lubricating joints and transporting nutrients and waste throughout the body.

Staying hydrated is particularly important during exercise. Adequate fluid intake is essential to comfort, performance and safety. The longer and more intensely you exercise, the more important it is to drink the right kind of fluids.

Studies have found that athletes who lose as little as one percent of their body weight in fluid can have up to 10% reduction in work rate. As little as two percent of their body weight through sweating has a drop in blood volume which causes the heart to work harder to circulate blood. A drop in blood volume may also lead to muscle cramps, dizziness, fatigue and heat illness including:

• Heat Exhaustion
• Heat Stroke

Furthermore, water loss will cause mental functions to deteriorate and may mean you could become slower at making decisions, prone to making mistakes and potentially susceptible to injury.

Common Causes of Dehydration In Athletes

• Inadequate fluid intake
• Excessive sweating
• Failure to replace fluid losses during and after exercise
• Exercising in dry, hot weather
• Drinking only when thirsty

MONITORING YOUR HYDRATION

The simplest way to monitor your hydration is to pay attention to the colour and volume of your urine. The lighter the colour of your urine the more hydrated you are.

Another way to monitor your hydration is to weigh yourself before training or playing and record this weight in kilograms. Then after the session, weigh yourself again to reveal the amount of weight lost. Typically, the majority of weight lost during a training session or match will be due to sweat. 1 kg of weight lost equates to approxiamately 1 litre of fluid.

One of the key improvements you suggested in your 'End Of Season' evaluation was to develop a strategy for monitoring your hydration. Facilities will be available next season for you to be able to monitor your urine and furthermore fluid lost through training and playing.