In addition, stimulated and unstimulated saliva samples detailed below were taken to establish baseline osmolality values and to ensure all participants were similarly hydrated at the start of each trial. Participants self-monitored and adjusted watts by varying cycle speed or resistance.

Participants were not allowed to evacuate or intake any fluids during the exercise protocol. Experimental design and protocol.

Dehydration Protocol: Euhydrated participants were randomly assigned in a counterbalanced fashion to one of three groups Deep, Sports, or Spring. Prior to data collection, participants executed 1 of 3 peak torque extension maneuvers to obtain a baseline value.

Upon completion of the Dehydration Protocol, participants immediately executed the second 2 of 3 peak torque extension maneuvers to obtain a post-exercise value and transitioned to the Hydration protocol.

Hydration protocol: Participants rehydrated with 1 of 3 fluids, in 2 phases. Phase 1 : Participants consumed fluids at ½ of the total volume lost. Immediately following the final saliva collection, participants executed the third [ 3 ] of 3 peak torque extension maneuvers to obtain a post-hydration value.

Rehydration occurred in two phases. In the first phase, participants consumed one-half of the total volume lost. After this min time period, the second phase occurred, in which participants consumed the remainder of the fluid.

As illustrated in Fig. To maintain consistency, participants performed this test oriented in the same position, and using the same hand grips for support during each of the measurements. Participants were also vigorously encouraged to exert maximal effort on each measurement by the same individuals.

When the participants were comfortable and ready to perform the measured test, they indicated this to the machine by holding their leg in a fully contracted position for several seconds, signaling the measurement process detailed above to proceed.

Hydration status was monitored using salivary osmolality. Several different measurements can be used to assess hydration, including serum, saliva, and urine osmolality, and urine volume and specific gravity, and the most appropriate measurement depends on the mode of dehydration, and the frequency of the measurement.

Previous studies have demonstrated that, for repeated measurements during active dehydration i. exercise in the heat, salivary osmolality is an accurate, non-invasive method to measure ECF osmolality [ 18 ].

Saliva was collected from the oral cavity, first as a passive expectorant unstimulated [ 17 , 19 ], and then following mechanical stimulated orofacial movement chewing on a cotton swab. All samples, both stimulated and unstimulated were then vortexed to homogenize the samples.

This was done immediately after sample collection to prevent sample spoilage. In addition to daily calibrations, the osmometer was calibrated prior to each new biological sample.

All values are presented as mean SD. Body Mass Index BMI was calculated using the following equation:. Body Surface Area BSA was calculated based on the following equation [ 20 ]:.

To compare heart rate, body weight BW , BMI, BSA, and tympanic temperature at baseline and peak, the measured values in each individual were averaged across the three arms of the study. Salivary osmolality S osm was plotted against percent body mass loss; body mass loss was calculated as the difference in body mass after completion of the dehydrating exercise, from body mass at trial initiation.

This value was divided by body mass at trial initiation and expressed as a percentage. Differences in the slopes of the regression lines between the groups were calculated using one-way analysis of variance ANOVA with Bonferroni post hoc correction for multiple comparisons.

The return of S osm to baseline during the Hydration Protocol was best fit by a mono-exponential one-phase decay model where,. Statistical calculations were calculated using commercially available software GraphPad Prism version 5.

All other comparisons were completed using a repeated measures 2-way ANOVA followed by a post-hoc Bonferroni analysis. No non-parametric tests were necessary, as all data were normally distributed. Female participants were significantly less in height when compared to male counterparts Considering the significant difference in height, BW However, this difference was eliminated in the calculated BMI; females had a BMI of Although baseline heart rate trended higher in females For each min bout of exercise, we recorded peak heart rate and subsequently averaged these values to arrive at a single peak heart rate.

We saw no significant impact of sex on peak heart rate, and no interaction between sex and exercise on peak heart rate. Tympanic temperature as an indicator of core temperature was also recorded throughout the exercise protocol.

Despite being subjected to exercise and moderate heat stress, both female For each saliva sample unstimulated and stimulated , we determined salivary osmolality S osm and plotted S osm against the percent of body mass lost.

For display purposes, we represent the data as binned samples ± standard deviation S. Stimulated and unstimulated S osm were significantly positively correlated with percent of body mass loss for both females and males. The relationship of S osm and percent body mass loss was not different between females and males.

Salivary osmolality as a function of body mass loss. Individual measures of salivary osmolality were averaged from the three trials. No differences between Females and Males were detected, nor was there an interaction between sex and time point of data collection.

Two-way ANOVA with post-hoc Bonferroni analysis. No significant differences in baseline S osm among study groups based on fluid designation were detected, validating that participants began each arm of the three trials at a similar hydration level.

Baseline S osm was not effected by sex in the stimulated females Similar to baseline, peak S osm was not significantly impacted by either study group designation or sex in the stimulated females Moreover, there was no significant interaction between these factors on peak S osm.

However, this elevation in S osm was not affected by the sex of the participant Fig. Subsequent comparison of the mean values for each participant demonstrated that males took less time Based on the averaged values of sweat rate for each participant, females Peak S osm steadily declined and returned to baseline S osm values before completion of the saliva collection time during the rehydration phase.

The same trend of significance was seen whether S osm was taken from the stimulated or the unstimulated samples. Rate of salivary osmolality recovery during fluid hydration following dehydrating exercise protocol.

Salivary osmolality was fit with a single exponential decay one-phase decay starting with peak salivary osmolality against real time. a representative one-phase decay fit to salivary osmolality recovery during fluid hydration.

Fluid was ingested in two phases indicated by the arrows. A repeated-measures two-way ANOVA determined a significant impact of fluid on rate parameters of hydration that was not impacted by sex.

Overall, males generated greater peak torque extension at baseline when compared to females However, the loss of peak torque reached significance only in males 9.

Impact of dehydration and hydration on lower body muscle performance. a Averaged values across experimental groups for peak torque extension Nm at Baseline and Post-Ex in Females and Males.

The goal of the study was to evaluate parameters of dehydration and associated performance deficits due to dehydrating exercise, and then to determine if hydration and muscle performance recovery was dependent on fluid type. Secondarily, we observed potential sex differences in these parameters, although the study was not explicitly powered for such comparisons.

Our observations on increases in heart rate are consistent with most [ 21 , 22 , 23 , 24 ], but not all [ 25 ] studies in the literature reporting statistically similar increases in heart rate for females and males during strenuous exercise.

It has been suggested that males and females may differ in heart rate response to exercise, due in part to differences in exercise capacity, with men being able to reach higher exercise intensities, and therefore generate larger changes in heart rate during exercise [ 25 ].

It has also been suggested that a bias may exist in research personnel against pushing females as hard as males during exercise [ 25 ], and that males may put in a higher degree of effort during exercise than females [ 22 ], both of which could show confounded sex differences in peak heart rate.

Indeed, we informally observed that males tended to exercise at a higher workload than females during our exercise study. However, our study, as well as another [ 22 ] showed similar max heart rates in females as males, despite the appearance of a difference in effort, indicating that males and females demonstrated similar exertion.

We observed a slight but statistically insignificant increase in tympanic temperature throughout the duration of the exercise protocol in men and women, with no differences between the sexes. This lack of difference between sexes was not surprising, because although males and females differ in some specific aspects of thermoregulation sweat rate and evaporative cooling efficiency during exercise in the heat, it is thought that females and males are able to maintain body temperature with similar efficiency [ 26 ].

However, we did not expect to see an overall lack of significant increase in body temperature after exercise, since much of the literature supports the idea that exercise, heat, and dehydration impair thermoregulation [ 3 , 11 , 26 ].

More likely, acclimation to exercising in hot conditions may be the reason for this observation. Heat acclimation may provide the athlete with the benefit of expanded erythrocyte volume, and plasma volume, both of which have the potential to improve thermoregulatory ability in athletes [ 29 ].

We did not account for heat acclimation in this study, but it is reasonable to infer that some or all of the study participants had some level of heat acclimation living in Arizona, a region with a hot, dry climate throughout most of the year. Average baseline S osm was not different between males and females.

Furthermore, we confirmed a significant positive correlation between percent body mass loss through sweat dehydration and S osm for both males and females, as expected during intense exercise in the heat. These were important observations, because they indicate that participants started at the same hydration level and executed a similar amount of exercise during each trial.

Although power output was not measured, we observed that men may have had higher average power output and tended to use greater resistance throughout the workout, consistent with findings showing higher aerobic workload capacity in men compared to women [ 30 ]. A higher power output in males could be one reason for the observed shorter time-to-dehydration than females.

This difference in time-to-dehydration could also be attributed to a faster general sweat rate in males than in females, mainly due to greater body surface area and lower surface area-to-mass ratio, and greater metabolic heat production in males than in females [ 30 , 31 ]. Although females generally have a greater number and density of eccrine sweat glands than men [ 30 ], the per-gland sweat secretion rate is a larger contributing factor to overall sweat rate than the number or density of sweat glands [ 31 ].

Sweat secretion rate per gland varies inter- and intra-individually, but it is possible that this factor may be partially responsible for this observed sweat rate difference. Baseline and post-exercise values indicated that males generated greater peak torque than females, as expected, based on a higher average muscle mass in males than in females.

In our study, fluid loss due to exercise resulted in a significant muscle performance deficit that was not impacted by sex. Although current literature is fairly inconclusive, results from many studies do suggest that dehydration negatively impacts muscular strength, power, and endurance [ 32 ].

However, there is relatively little research comparing potential dehydration-induced decline in muscle strength between men and women, and results of such studies vary.

The results of the current study do not necessarily support the notion that dehydration negatively impacts muscle strength, as the effects of dehydration were not isolated from the effects of exercise and muscle fatigue in this study.

Interesting findings from previous work suggest that consumption of deep-ocean mineral water following a dehydrating exercise protocol improves aerobic performance and muscle strength [ 13 , 14 ]. In this more comprehensive study, we found that male and female participants demonstrated elevated rates of hydration recovery, and that peak torque of a leg extension may also be improved when fluid was replenished with deep-ocean mineral water compared to other fluids.

Therefore, improved acute hydration may be one factor by which deep-ocean mineral water improves exercise performance, as has been shown. Although we did not study the precise mechanism underlying enhanced fluid recovery with deep-ocean mineral water, it is likely that the unique mineral composition of deep-ocean mineral water contributes to this characteristic See Table 1 for a nutrient comparison of fluids.

A study by Hou et al. However, Kona Deep® contains far less Mg than the deep-ocean mineral water used in the Hou study, and therefore, we cannot necessarily predict that the modest difference in Mg between the three fluids in our study was a major contributor to the observed effects on muscle performance.

Additionally, we have no evidence to support a connection between Mg and hydration recovery. Another possible mineral contributor is boron. Both Kona Deep® and the water used in the Hou study contain significant amounts of this trace mineral.

Hou reports that boron attenuates the rise in plasma lactate, potentially delaying fatigue, and prevents Mg loss. As with Mg, however, we have no evidence to support a connection between boron and hydration recovery.

Interestingly, composition of the intake fluid impacts intestinal water flux more so than osmolality [ 34 ]. Carbohydrate-electrolyte sports drinks, such as Gatorade®, are proposed to increase intestinal water absorption due to the presence of glucose, which assists sodium transport into the intestinal cells via the sodium-glucose cotransporter, thereby influencing water flux by promoting an osmotic gradient [ 35 , 36 ].

However, we observed no greater acute hydration rate with Gatorade® compared to the other fluids. This may be due to the influence of gastric emptying rates, as fluids containing carbohydrates may decrease gastric emptying rate compared to non-carbohydrate-containing fluids [ 36 , 37 ].

Notably, slower gastric emptying rates may also decrease intestinal absorption rates [ 35 ], thereby slowing overall fluid uptake and assimilation into the body fluid compartments. Several limitations of the study have been mentioned throughout the paper.

We relied on the use of salivary osmolality as the sole marker of hydration throughout the study. Previous work shows that salivary osmolality is highly valuable for serial measures of hydration during intense physical activity in the heat [ 18 ].

More importantly, we needed multiple data points to best model instantaneous changes in osmolality throughout the dehydration and rehydration periods. Due to the continuous nature of the exercise protocol, serial urine collections were not practical for this study.

Some limitations do exist for the use of S osm as a marker of hydration, including an initial sharp drop in osmolality caused by oral rinse and variability between participants [ 3 , 15 , 17 , 18 , 19 ].

Furthermore, baseline, peak or the rate of increase in S osm across the 3 trials was similar for each participant, indicating S osm was an appropriate method for comparing rehydration fluids within each participant.

Participants were separated by sex based on secondary analysis of study parameters. Because the study was not powered for sex differences, analysis of peak torque would require further studies specifically powered for sex as a primary outcome.

Similarly, dietary restrictions were suggested and not strictly enforced and cannot be ruled out as a potential contributor to any sex differences. Finally, the American College of Sports Medicine ACSM recommends 1. In our study, participants replaced fluid lost in a ratio.

During development of the protocol in pilot studies, participants were not able to ingest fluid amounts suggested by the ACSM recommendations. In addition, participants did not urinate during rehydration, and all subjects completed the final saliva collection and muscle strength measurement at their full baseline body mass.

Future studies will be designed to address these limitations as well as the underlying mechanisms by which deep-ocean mineral water elicited enhanced hydration effects, including the contribution of specific nutrients specific to deep-ocean mineral water.

Kona Deep® deep-ocean mineral water improved acute rehydration rate after a dehydrating exercise in both males and females, compared to spring water and Gatorade®.

However, it remains unclear whether the hydration-enhancing effect of deep-ocean mineral water impacts performance recovery as demonstrated previously [ 13 , 14 , 15 ].

Future studies will be targeted at uncovering the mechanisms behind the hydration-enhancing properties of deep-ocean mineral water, further characterizing sex differences in these relationships, and correlating additional measures of hydration, such as serum osmolality, with that of S osm.

Bhave G, Neilson EG. Body fluid dynamics: back to the future. J Am Soc Nephrol. Article CAS PubMed PubMed Central Google Scholar. Bourque CW. Central mechanisms of osmosensation and systemic osmoregulation.

Nat Rev Neurosci. Article CAS PubMed Google Scholar. Cheuvront SN, Carter R 3rd, Sawka MN. Fluid balance and endurance exercise performance.

Curr Sports Med Rep. Article PubMed Google Scholar. Shibasaki M, Wilson TE, Crandall CG. Neural control and mechanisms of eccrine sweating during heat stress and exercise.

J Appl Physiol Article Google Scholar. Lara B, Salinero JJ, Areces F, Ruiz-Vicente D, Gallo-Salazar C, Abian-Vicen J, Del Coso J. Sweat sodium loss influences serum sodium concentration in a marathon. Scand J Med Sci Sports.

Sawka MNWCB, Pandolf KB. Thermoregulatory responses to acute exercise-heat stress and heat acclimatization. In: Fregly MJBCM, editor. Handbook of physiology. New York: Oxford University Press; Google Scholar. Fisher SK, Heacock AM, Keep RF, Foster DJ. Receptor regulation of osmolyte homeostasis in neural cells.

J Physiol. Sawka MN, Young AJ, Francesconi RP, Muza SR, Pandolf KB. Thermoregulatory and blood responses during exercise at graded hypohydration levels. Article CAS Google Scholar. Armstrong LE, Costill DL, Fink WJ. Influence of diuretic-induced dehydration on competitive running performance.

Med Sci Sports Exerc. Maughan RJ, Shirreffs SM. Dehydration and rehydration in competitive sport. Sawka MN, Cheuvront SN, Kenefick RW. Hypohydration and human performance: impact of environment and physiological mechanisms.

Sports Med. Article PubMed Central Google Scholar. Thomas DT, Erdman KA, Burke LM. American College of Sports Medicine joint position statement. Nutrition and athletic performance. Hou CW, Tsai YS, Jean WH, Chen CY, Ivy JL, Huang CY, Kuo CH. Deep ocean mineral water accelerates recovery from physical fatigue.

J Int Soc Sports Nutr. Article PubMed PubMed Central Google Scholar. Wang ML, Chen YJ, Cheng FC. Nigari deep seawater concentrate enhances the treadmill exercise performance of gerbils. Biol Sport. Keen DA, Constantopoulos E, Konhilas JP.

The impact of post-exercise hydration with deep-ocean mineral water on rehydration and exercise performance. Galloway SD, Maughan RJ. Effects of ambient temperature on the capacity to perform prolonged cycle exercise in man.

Ely BR, Cheuvront SN, Kenefick RW, Spitz MG, Heavens KR, Walsh NP, Sawka MN. Assessment of extracellular dehydration using saliva osmolality. Eur J Appl Physiol. Munoz CX, McKenzie AL, Armstrong LE. Optimal hydration biomarkers: consideration of daily activities.

Obes Facts. Cheuvront SN, Ely BR, Kenefick RW, Sawka MN. Biological variation and diagnostic accuracy of dehydration assessment markers. Am J Clin Nutr.

Du Bois D, Du Bois EF. A formula to estimate the approximate surface area if height and weight be known. PubMed Google Scholar. Cote AT, Phillips AA, Foulds HJ, Charlesworth SA, Bredin SS, Burr JF, Koehle MS, Warburton DE.

Sex differences in cardiac function after prolonged strenuous exercise. Clin J Sport Med. Fomin A, Ahlstrand M, Schill HG, Lund LH, Stahlberg M, Manouras A, Gabrielsen A. Sex differences in response to maximal exercise stress test in trained adolescents.

Exercise causes muscles to become stronger by breaking them down, and then rebuilding them using muscle protein synthesis. However, this process requires the muscles to be hydrated. If you are dehydrated following an injury, your recovery process slows immensely and halts the protein synthesis that rebuilds muscles.

The body transforms carbohydrates into a form of sugar called glucose that is used for energy. The glucose, in turn, is converted into Glycogen, a form of sugar that is easily stored in our muscles and liver, to provide instant energy. Water plays a key role in the digestion process.

Saliva is crucial to digest and absorb the nutrients you eat. It is responsible for the beginning stages breaking down food. Rehydrating properly after an injury aids in the efficiency of the digestive process, which also enhances your recovery.

One of the most common signs of dehydration is fatigue. When you are dehydrated, your blood volume is decreased, which means that the heart has to work harder to pump the blood to all of the parts of your body that need its vital oxygen and nutrients.

This fatigue, not only hinders injury recovery, but reduces motivation. A study of the role of hydration in health and exercise found that water had a significant impact on recovery. In the experiment, individuals did a 90 minute run on a treadmill.

One group drank water during and after the workout, while the other group drank nothing at all. The experiment found that the individuals who drank water showed significantly faster heart rate recovery following the workout, which indicates that their bodies recovered more quickly from the stress of exercise.

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DripDrop Zero. Founding Story. Our Mission. Mission Timeline. Your Cart 0 item. No items in your cart. Here are 4 ways that water will aid your recovery and help you make your next workout even better than the last: 1.

References: Arıcan, Aysen. Best Sellers. Berry count. When adequately hydrated, the gel-like liquid provides nutrients, shock absorption, and reduced friction, enabling smooth motion and joint mobility.

You lose water constantly throughout your day. For your body to function properly, replenishing its water supply is essential—but how much water do you need? The most popular recommendation is to aim for eight cups of water a day.

While easy to remember and a reasonable goal, you may need more water if you live an active lifestyle or live in hot, humid, or high-altitude environments. The U. National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine determined that an adequate daily fluid intake is about These recommendations cover fluids from water, other beverages, and food.

About 20 percent of daily fluid intake usually comes from food, and the rest from drinks. The Dietary Guidelines for Americans recommends avoiding high-caloric drinks with added sugars when choosing beverages.

Here are five general tips supported by research to help you increase your water intake:. The Bottom Line: Hydration is essential for physical and mental performance and contributes to overall health, well-being, and rehabilitation.

Monitor your fluid intake throughout the day and match your hydration to your lifestyle and environment. Adding another glass or two of water to your day will benefit your body and mind. Forget the URL for the Limber Provider Portal? If you are a current provider using Limber and forget the web address for the portal, please enter the below information for help from the Limber Support Team: Name Email Company Thank you!

For more information, check out Matthew Walker's Why We Sleep , which Andy has reviewed here. Putting these simple things into place can have big pay-offs for your sleep quality and in turn, your recovery.

Recovery is arguably as important as your training. So, giving proper time to recovery will go a long way to helping optimise your performance.

Too many athletes today are looking for an exact scientific formula to tell them what to eat, drink, sleep, and do. Getting your nutrition, hydration and sleep right will have the biggest pay-offs. Abby Coleman is a Sports Scientist who completed her BSc Hons degree in Sport and Exercise Science at the University of Bath and has worked at the Porsche Human Performance Centre as an exercise physiologist.

She also has qualifications in nutritional training, sports massage and sports leadership. Subscribe Get performance advice emails. Get advice. Knowledge Hub. Science of recovery: the importance of food, hydration and sleep By Abby Coleman.

Nutrition Exercise depletes our muscles' glycogen stores which is an important 'fuel reserve' for exercise and it's well-established that consuming carbohydrates post-exercise plays an important role in replenishing these stores.

In short, there was no rush. The exception to the above is an athlete who's looking to maximise their short-term recovery. Abby Coleman Sports Scientist.

If an athlete is unable to get adequate rest between workouts or competitions they are more susceptible to developing long term issues such as burnout or chronic fatigue syndrome. Therefore, it is important for athletes to be aware of the dangers associated with overtraining and understand how important it is to set realistic goals when training and competing in order to prevent these long-term consequences from taking hold.

Athletes strive to recover faster after intense training or competition in order to quickly get back to their peak performance levels. Being able to rebound quickly is a key factor in any athlete's success, as it enables them to avoid burnout and injury, while also allowing them to take advantage of the positive adaptations that occur during rest and recovery.

Faster recovery times also allow athletes to train and compete more frequently, resulting in greater success. Being able to return quickly from strenuous activity helps athletes stay healthy and avoid injury while also improving their overall performance.

Recovering faster enables athletes to get back on the field or court quicker, giving them a competitive edge over other players. It also improves their endurance and strength, allowing them to perform at a higher level longer without experiencing fatigue or pain.

Additionally, if they are able to rebound quickly from physical exhaustion they can maintain maximum focus during a game or practice session which is essential for optimal performance levels.

This is crucial for athletes with a demanding season schedule. Depending on their sport, athletes may have multiple competitions within a short amount of time, which can cause their performance levels to suffer if they don't allow enough time for recovery.

Resting and recovering between workouts or games not only helps decrease fatigue and soreness, but also allows the athlete's body time to repair damaged tissue, which is essential for optimal performance. Additionally, muscle protein synthesis - a process responsible for generating new muscle proteins - is most effective when performed with adequate rest and nutrition.

With this in mind, athletes will often try to optimize recovery strategies such as using sports massage therapy, ice baths, or foam rolling in order to reduce tension in muscle fibers after an intense workout.

Faster recovery times are achieved through a combination of proper nutrition, adequate rest and active recovery techniques such as massage therapy and stretching.

Active recovery methods such as massage therapy can help speed up the healing process by reducing inflammation caused by intense exercise while stretching helps keep joints limber and improve flexibility throughout the body. Nutrition is key for any athlete looking to optimize their recovery rate; eating nutrient-dense foods including protein and complex carbohydrates fuels muscles after strenuous workouts.

Providing the right nutrients shortly after exercise helps replenish glycogen stores so that muscles are ready for another bout of activity. Eating foods high in anti-inflammatory properties help reduce soreness post-exercise while ingesting protein aids in muscle repair and growth.

Furthermore, hydrating properly during training sessions and afterwards helps replenish fluids lost through sweat and prevent dehydration, which can interfere with physical performance.

Hydration has an important impact on Heart Rate Variability HRV. When we are dehydrated, the heart rate often increases as it compensates for the lack of water in the body by increasing the output of each beat. Additionally, when we are dehydrated, our sympathetic nervous system SNS becomes more active and elevates stress hormones like cortisol and epinephrine which can lead to further decreases in HRV.

Therefore, adequate hydration is essential for healthy HRV since it helps keep the SNS functioning normally and reduces the risk of dehydration-related heart rhythm disturbances. Research has shown that even mild levels of dehydration can significantly reduce HRV.

Similarly, another study found that cyclists who drank ml of water 30 minutes after exercise had an increase in post-exercise cardiac vagal reactivation.

This indicates that even small amounts of water may be beneficial for maintaining healthy HRV levels and faster recovery. In addition to helping maintain healthy levels of PNS activity, hydration also impacts our cardiovascular system by improving blood flow and helping regulate blood pressure.

It helps dilate blood vessels and encourages proper distribution of oxygen throughout the body which helps stabilize our heart rate and maintain normal blood pressure levels. Proper hydration allows us to better cope with stressors both physical and mental as it improves our overall level of vitality—reducing fatigue and enhancing cognitive performance—and improves our overall quality of life by reducing health risks associated with dehydration such as headaches, dizziness, poor mood, or difficulty concentrating.

Thus, hydration plays a critical role in maintaining optimal levels of HRV since it helps regulate both our sympathetic and parasympathetic systems as well as improve cardiovascular function leading to better overall health outcomes.

Therefore proper hydration should be encouraged in order to support optimal cardiovascular functioning and is an important part of any health plan or lifestyle regimen. It is recommended to hydrate before, during, and after intense physical exercise to reach optimal hydration levels.

The exact timing and amount of hydration required may vary depending on individual factors such as body size, environmental conditions, and duration and intensity of exercise. As a general guideline, it's recommended to drink fluid ounces of water hours before exercising, and fluid ounces every minutes during exercise to maintain proper hydration.

After exercise, it's recommended to drink fluid ounces of water for every pound of body weight lost during exercise to rehydrate. It is important to keep in mind that the time it takes for the body to fully absorb fluids and electrolytes can vary and may take several hours, so it's essential to continue hydrating regularly throughout the day.

It's also a good idea to monitor urine color and quantity to gauge hydration levels, as clear or light-colored urine is a sign of good hydration. Hydration readiness can be highly personalized and is impacted by their state of heat acclimatization. Optimal hydration is also essential for brain health and function.

Even mild dehydration is associated with impaired cognition —mental processes required to perceive, process, and produce information—which is necessary to accomplish everyday tasks.

Proper hydration can improve concentration, memory, and reaction time. Staying hydrated is especially important if you are recovering from an injury.

Optimal hydration helps to reduce inflammation and swelling after an injury, brings increased blood flow and delivery of nutrients to the injured area, and aids in the removal of waste products. Alongside your standard rehabilitation program for soft-tissue injuries, keeping your water intake up can help you return to normal movement faster and, in some cases, expedite your overall recovery time.

You may also find joint pain is more prevalent when you are dehydrated. Up to 80 percent of joint cartilage consists of water, providing a cushion to prevent bones from coming in contact with one another. Synovial joints like your knees, hips, shoulders, or elbows have joint capsules filled with thick synovial fluid.

When adequately hydrated, the gel-like liquid provides nutrients, shock absorption, and reduced friction, enabling smooth motion and joint mobility. You lose water constantly throughout your day. For your body to function properly, replenishing its water supply is essential—but how much water do you need?

The most popular recommendation is to aim for eight cups of water a day. While easy to remember and a reasonable goal, you may need more water if you live an active lifestyle or live in hot, humid, or high-altitude environments.

The U. National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine determined that an adequate daily fluid intake is about These recommendations cover fluids from water, other beverages, and food. About 20 percent of daily fluid intake usually comes from food, and the rest from drinks.

The Dietary Guidelines for Americans recommends avoiding high-caloric drinks with added sugars when choosing beverages. Here are five general tips supported by research to help you increase your water intake:.

The Bottom Line: Hydration is essential for physical and mental performance and contributes to overall health, well-being, and rehabilitation. Monitor your fluid intake throughout the day and match your hydration to your lifestyle and environment. Adding another glass or two of water to your day will benefit your body and mind.

Forget the URL for the Limber Provider Portal? If you are a current provider using Limber and forget the web address for the portal, please enter the below information for help from the Limber Support Team: Name Email Company Thank you!