You’ve exercised and lost a bunch of water through sweating. Now it’s time to replenish it. Do you know how much water you can safely absorb per hour?
How Much Water is Safe to drink per Hour?
Your body is always striving for balance so if you sweat out a good amount of it’s fluids, it will be eager to reabsorb that water when you drink it. Drinking approximately 16-32 ounces of water per hour is the safe zone for reabsorbing water efficiently. Anything more and you may feel “water-logged.” Knowing how much water you lost during your workout is important in your re-hydration plan. If you typically sweat 2lbs of off per workout, you will need to prioritize your water intake over the following few hours to ensure full re-hydration.
Watch Out for OVERHydration
Overhydration can occur in athletes or those who drink high volumes of water before and during exercise. It can lead to a condition called Hyponatremia and Hypokalemia (more rare). This condition flushes out sodium (potassium) to dangerously low levels. Early symptoms include headache, nausea, confusion or disorientation. Untreated it can lead to more dangerous symptoms such as cramping, muscle weakness and spasms, seizures, unconsciousness and even coma. This is why moderating your water intake and ensuring that you get plenty of electrolytes is very important when hydrating and re-hydrating (post-workout).
Safely Re-Hydrating
A good rule of thumb for re-hydrating is let thirst be your guide. Drink when you’re thirsty and don’t bloat yourself. As long as you have water coming into your system you will replenish. Going overboard (no pun intended) on loading up on water immediately after your workout will leave you feeling water-logged. Be mindful of how much you may need to replenish and incorporate drinking it over the following few hours. It may also help to supercharge your water with added electrolytes, especially if you sweat excessively or work out in very hot conditions.Take your time. Your body will find a good water balance and you’ll be ready to go for your next workout.
Drink your water. Be safe and be healthy.