Staying hydrated in the heat: what the public can learn from professional athletes

David Richardson is a fitness trainer from the United Kingdom with 30 years of experience working with top sportspeople and elite athletes. He was one of the first fitness coaches in professional football, working for 26 seasons and travelling all over the world. He has also supported judo contestants at 2 Olympic games and worked closely with boxers. Most recently, he coached a top-tier Indian football club.

Amid a season of sporting events, including UEFA EURO 2024, the Olympics and Paralympics, David explains how athletes cope with the heat, and shares some tips for the public on how to stay hydrated as temperatures rise.

The importance of good hydration in the heat

"Every day, we lose water through sweating. This can range from 500 ml per day while resting in a cool environment to 10 litres per day during exercise in the heat. That is why games and big sporting events that take place in the middle of summer are hard on sportspeople," says David.

Being dehydrated can affect flexibility, speed, endurance, muscle and mental function. It can also make you feel unwell.

"You don't have to lose a lot of water for it to affect your performance. The reduction in performance levels due to dehydration can be massive across the whole team, in terms of physical performance plus slowed decision-making."

In professional sports, players are put through rigorous checks to ensure they are well-hydrated before games.

"We weigh the players before we start, and we weigh them again when they come back in, even after a 20-minute warm-up. If they've lost a kilo, we'll give them a litre of water with electrolytes before they go back out again."

Electrolytes are minerals like sodium, calcium, and potassium that are essential to many key functions in the body, like regulating muscle contractions and helping the body to stay hydrated. In hot temperatures, when they are lost through excessive sweating or urination, people can experience fatigue, headaches, nausea, blood pressure changes, muscle cramps and low energy. Therefore, while drinking water is important in hot temperatures, overhydration can disrupt the electrolyte balance, so athletes are supplemented with salts and sugars in the form of tablets.

David describes how sometimes, in the heat of the game, sportspeople can forget about hydration because they are so focused on competing.

"You train for all those years, from the age of 8 all the way through to an Olympic level, and you get your hydration wrong on the day of the competition, you get cramps, and it's over. You've wasted your moment. Hydration is that important."

Learning from the professionals: how to cope in the heat

While professional athletes and Olympians might seem a breed apart from the average person, David shares some tips that the public can use to stay hydrated in the heat this summer.

• Stay hydrated at night: "Keep your rooms well ventilated. Use a fan in the room. Keep water by the side of the bed. Drink a glass of water when you wake up - we lose water in the night from sweating."
• Be prepared for the day ahead: "When you pack your bag, make sure there's plenty of water in there, a good couple of litres of water, not just a small sports bottle. In the heat, we need to drink a lot more than we think!"
• Avoid alcohol: "Think twice about drinking alcohol - it is a diuretic, meaning it makes you urinate more often, so you can become more dehydrated."
• Check your hydration levels throughout the day: "When you urinate, check the colour. It should be clear. If it's pale yellow or darker, you need to drink more."
• Think about replacing lost electrolytes: "If you're sweating a lot in the heat and have a headache or fatigue, in addition to drinking water, consider taking a rehydration sachet, which is widely available at pharmacies."

Tecla Huth from the Federal Centre for Health Education in Germany, the country hosting the UEFA EURO 2024 championships, echoes David's advice. "Staying hydrated in the heat is important, not just for athletes, but for all of us. This summer, to avoid heat-related illness, make hydration a priority," she says. She recommends focusing on simple steps like drinking 2 or 3 litres of water throughout the day in hot weather. "Drink 1 glass every hour, whether you're thirsty or not. Go easy on your stomach and avoid ice-cold drinks as well as alcoholic and sugary beverages."

Public link

Please use the above public link if you want to share this noodl on another website.