Rehydrate when you sweat
Drink regularly during hot work or long workouts, and add electrolytes when you sweat for more than two hours.
- How often
- As needed
- Time
- During and after sweating
- Recommended for
- 34 factors
How to do it
- Drink water often while you work or exercise in heat. Don't wait until you feel thirsty.
- For sweaty work or exercise lasting more than two hours, add a drink with electrolytes, such as a sports drink.
- Keep cool water close by so you don't skip it.
- Afterward, keep drinking and eat a meal to replace the salt and potassium you lost.
- Check your urine. Dark yellow means you need more fluid.
Why it helps
Sweat carries off water along with salt and other electrolytes. Plain water replaces fluid but not those minerals, and a large loss can cause muscle cramps and other problems. People who work or exercise outdoors in hot weather are among those most at risk of dehydration.
Be careful
Confusion, fainting, not urinating, a rapid heartbeat or rapid breathing are signs of serious dehydration. Get medical help right away. Some respirators and protective clothing raise the risk of heat illness. Don't drink more than about 48 ounces (1.5 quarts) an hour. Too much plain water can dangerously lower the sodium in your blood. On long events, use a drink with electrolytes.
Recommended for
Alabama
Long, humid summers, strong sun, and ticks most of the year.
placeArizona
Extreme desert heat, intense sun and a lung infection that lives in the dust.
placeArkansas
Tick country with humid summers and a strong southern sun.
placeCalifornia
Wildfire smoke, valley fever dust, inland heat and year-round sun.
occupationConstruction worker
Heavy loads, heights, noise, dust and weather, every day.
hobbyCrossFit and HIIT
Fast, hard intervals with jumps, lifts and very little rest.
placeDelaware
A high-Lyme state with humid summers on the coast.
placeDistrict of Columbia
Urban heat, summer ozone and ticks even inside the city.
occupationFirefighter
Extreme heat, heavy gear, smoke, sleepless shifts and traumatic calls.
placeFlorida
Heat and humidity most of the year, high sun, and mold after storms.
placeGeorgia
Humid heat, strong sun, southern ticks and radon around Atlanta.
placeIllinois
High-radon soil, dark winters, cold snaps and deadly summer heat waves.
placeIndiana
High-radon soil, gray winters, humid summers and a lot of private wells.
placeKansas
High-radon soil, hard summer heat and ticks in the grass.
placeKentucky
Alpha-gal tick country with radon pockets and muggy summers.
occupationLandscaper
Mowing, digging and lifting outdoors in every kind of weather.
occupationLine cook
Heat, knives, hot oil and a ticket rail that never empties.
placeLouisiana
Gulf humidity, a long mosquito season and mold after floods.
placeMaryland
High-Lyme suburbs, radon in the central counties and humid summers.
placeMississippi
Long, humid summers, southern ticks and a strong Gulf sun.
placeMissouri
Tick hot spot of the Midwest, with hot summers and radon near Kansas City.
placeNevada
Desert heat, high-elevation sun, and a soil fungus kicked up by dust.
placeNorth Carolina
Humid summers, spotted fever ticks, and radon in the mountains.
placeOklahoma
Long hot summers and ticks that can spread spotted fever and alpha-gal.
hobbyPickleball
Quick lateral steps, sudden lunges and plenty of falls on hard courts.
hobbyRoad cycling
Hours bent over the bars, legs spinning thousands of turns per ride.
hobbyRunning
Thousands of footstrikes a week, mostly through your shins, knees and feet.
hobbySoccer
Running, cutting, kicking and contact for ninety minutes.
placeSouth Carolina
Steamy summers, strong southern sun, and lone star ticks.
placeTennessee
Spotted fever ticks, humid heat, and radon in Middle and East Tennessee.
hobbyTennis
Thousands of swings, serves and sprints, mostly on one side of the body.
placeTexas
Long, dangerous summer heat, strong sun, and mosquito season.
occupationWarehouse worker
Picking, packing and lifting at speed, miles of walking a shift.
hobbyYoga
Deep stretches and long holds that can push joints past their limits.