The Truth About Hydration

How many glasses of water do you really need to take?

Remember when we were kids and the P.E. the teacher always insisted on staying hydrated? Making a big fuss about drinking lots of water and other liquids. The same goes for our parents and practically every adult in our lives. They all seemed so concerned about how much water we take in and put out. They were so fixated on this issue that we believed them, we bought the whole eight glasses of water a day story with no actual knowledge about the truth.

The thing is that there is some kind of cult or belief around hydration, people believing things like it helps prevent all kinds of diseases, that if you don’t drink enough water you’ll just drop dead, and all sorts of crazy stuff. We’ve grown so accustomed to this so called facts that we have shaped our lives around them, and they get even worse for someone who exercises regularly. Surely, athletes need to stay hydrated in order to achieve the best level of performance possible for them, but it is not like most people believe.

The first, and foremost truth, you should know about hydration is that as long as you drink whenever you’re thirsty, you’ll be fine. Our bodies are smart, when we need food we get hungry, when we need sleep we get sleepy, so it stands to reason that when we need water, we get thirsty. It’s that simple!

Well, with that being said, today we are here to bust out the five biggest myths about hydration:

1. We should drink eight glasses of water a day: We start with the biggest myth of all. Eight glasses of water is an arbitrary amount that somebody just labeled as appropriate without even considering that every person has their own needs and circumstances. The amount of water we should take will depend on things such as our body mass and how much physical exercise we do every day. An athlete will always need more than someone who engages on mild physical activity or none at all. Again, trust your body, drink when you’re thirsty and you’ll be fine.

2. Clear urine is best: Lots of people believe that clear pee means good hydration and that everything is fine. Doctors and scientist suggest otherwise, clear urine is a symptom of overhydration. Yes, there’s such a thing as too much water in our systems but we’ll circle back to that later on. Pale yellow urine is your goal, it means that you’re not overhydrated and are eliminating toxins properly. Dark or murky pee is a sign of dehydration though.

3. We simply need water: This is a tricky one, it depends on your lifestyle. For someone who engages on low or mild physical exercise drinking water whenever they feel thirsty is just fine. An athlete however, will need a little extra kick. After doing hard exercise they will also need sodium and potassium to replenish their body levels. In these cases, sport drinks are the best option.

4. You can’t have too much water: Yes you can! Any excess with our bodies can be detrimental to our health and cause serious problems. Drinking too much water can cause symptomatic hyponatremia which is caused by low levels of sodium in the blood stream due to too much water. Some of the symptoms are nausea, diarrhea, and vomiting and can even lead to death if not treated properly.

5. Drinking water prevents diseases and helps you to lose weight: There is absolutely no scientific research that supports that drinking water reduces the risk of any kind of decease. Surely, the body needs water to sustain itself but the liquid by itself doesn’t help prevent any disease. The same goes for weight loss, if anything, drinking too much water can cause fluid retention which will make you gain weight.

So, basically, it all comes down to trusting your body. In more cases than not, it knows what is best for you, just drink when you’re thirsty and you’ll be fine. If you’re a hardcore athlete. you might want to give sport drinks a try.

Staying healthy and safe is what Lightbug Sports is all about. They have the best sports gear for all your athletic needs, from shoes to shirts and even accessories. Plus, all of their products are made from light-reflecting materials designed to keep you safe and visible even in low light situations.

Find out the truth of how much water you actually need.

Lightbug Sports

Phone: +1 (877) 586.7425

Email: info@lightbugsport.com

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