Tips to stay hydrated during outdoor activities

by Avathi Outdoors | Hydration

Tips to stay hydrated during outdoor activities

Pursuing your passion - rock climbing, camping, trekking, cycling, walking or just hanging out with friends —we love stepping out for outdoor activities. Fortunately, there are several indoor and outdoor adventure activities in Bangalore that can keep us engaged during weekends. As much as we love stepping out, pursuing an outdoor activity, particularly in the warm weather around our cities is tiresome for our bodies. One of main causes of feeling tired while engaging in outdoor activities is due to dehydration.

 

Our body tells us in various manners that it's dehydrated. Common symptoms of dehydration are—feeling thirsty, muscle cramps, headache, dark yellow pee, or dry skin.Being dehydrated can lead to a few mildly irritating to extremely unpleasant situations such as urinary tract infections, heat injuries and even low blood volume and seizures. In the outdoors, these can be additionally problematic due to being away from the nearest health-care centre. 

 

So whatever you do, STAY hydrated! Here are some tips to stay hydrated during outdoor activities or when you step out:

 

 

 

 

curated experiences curated experiences
View All Experiences Now

1.       Drink up

Always consume water at regular intervals to keep your energy levels high. Intense activities like rock climbing or long-distance hiking can drain you out quickly during the day. How do we prevent dehydration during outdoor activities like hiking or rock climbing? If you have a physically taxing day ahead, drink ample water at night so that your body wakes up fully hydrated the next morning. For the trip outdoors, plan and carry adequate water, especially when you are stepping out away from the city. Carry at least two to three liters of water per person.  Just drinking water won’t help since the body is also losing all the essential salts. Carry light salted snacks to help maintain the salt and water balance. 

Always Remember: When you feel thirsty, your body’s water level has dropped drastically already.

2.       Fruitify Your Diet

Fruits are not just nature’s goodies sealed with nutrition but also one of the easiest ways to prevent dehydration as they have high levels of water in them. Fruits like watermelon, oranges, grapes, kiwi are a great source of fluids because they have more than 80% water. But did you know that a tomato actually is the https://www.10best.com/interests/food-culture/this-is-shockingly-the-most-hydrating-fruit/out there? Also look out for the occasional coconut-seller because while outdoors, we are constantly losing electrolytes when we sweat. Coconut water is nature’s electrolyte drink. 

3.       Time your trips

The warmer the day, the more we shall sweat, the more we will lose water. The logic is simple: Plan more intense adventure activities such as bouldering or steep terrain hiking in the cooler times of the day. Early in the morning or late afternoon is best so that you don’t lose bodily fluids and lead to dehydration . A light trek into the forest is of course manageable throughout the day if the weather is pleasant.  

 

4.       Keep it Light and Cool

Your wardrobe matters in the outdoors! Dark-colored clothes absorb a lot of heat and make us sweat a lot, leading to dehydration. The fabric of your clothing plays a pivotal role; try and avoid polyester and wear more cotton. Wear well-fitted, light-colored clothes made from breathable fabrics so that your body temperature is regulated as well as you sweat less. 

5.       Avoid Alcohol

Usually, having fun with friends involves getting drunk. But drinking makes our body lose out on a lot of essential nutrients and fluids. No harm in a limited amount of alcohol, but overdoing alcohol can lead to a hangover and drain a lot of fluid out of your system. So, drink responsibly and avoid alcohol a day prior to your outdoor visit.

Outdoor activities can be a lot of fun, and keeping our bodies hydrated will make the experience even more fun. So drink up the water and juices and keep yourself as cool as a cucumber to stay hydrated during outdoor activities.

img