Optimal Hydration

Dehydration is where the body has less water and fluids than what is required. This can have adverse effects on bodily functions and sports performance.

'Water is essential for life. It accounts for about 60% of our body weight and performs crucial roles such as carrying nutrients and waste products between our major organs, helping regulate body temperature, lubricating our moving parts, and acting as a shock absorber.' Derbyshire E (2015)

Derbyshire E (2015) states that: 'our brains are 73% water, poor hydration can have an adverse effect on how our brains function.'

These refrences support the importance of hydration for everybody, especially sports performers who are vunerable to dehydration. 

The video above is from the leading sports drink brand Lucozade, it explains the benefits of hydration and what it can do to your performance.

'Dehydration of greater than 2% loss of body weight increases the risk of nausea, vomiting, diarrhoea, and other gastro-intestinal problems during exercise. Dehydration reduces the rate of fluid absorption from the intestines, making it more difficult to reverse the fluid deficit.' Class Notes (2015) This refrence shows the small margin it takes to become dehydrated and how difficult it is to re hydrate afterwards. Exercise causes sweating which means fluids are lost from the body, if not replaced by water or sports drinks this will result in a drop in bloood volume. This means the heart will have to work harder to circulate blood which can mean a higher chance of muscle cramps and dizziness.

It is so important for sports performance that during the FIFA World Cup 2014 in Brazil, FIFA sanctioned that in certain matches that play be stopped for 3 minutes in both halves in order for teams and officials to have a 'drinks break'.

Here are some pictures from the last sixteen knockout game between The Netherlands and Mexico in Fortaleza. Temperatures exceeded 32C and drinks breaks were taken around th 30th and 75th minutes. FIFA allowed this to happen from pressure they recieved from Head coaches and managers of the participating countries. 

This is further evidence of how important it is to hydrate as the biggest sporting body in the world is prepared to stop a World Cup match twice in order to take on fluids.

Hyponatraemia

Class Notes (2015) defines Hyponatremia as 'a rare condition that happens when there is too little sodium in the body. It can occur in athletes who drink too much water.' The likelyhood of this happening in dry hot conditions is small as it would be hard to drink too much due to the execissive sweat loss. It is more common in cool damp conditions where sweat loss is lower. Endurance athletes have a higher risk of Hyponatraemia and it can have serious effects on health. Cells, Lungs and Brain can swell from excessive amounts of water in your body also leading to confusion and headaches. 

It is important not to over hydrate for any sports performer as physically it makes you heavier and you can feel bloated; this can cause an athlete to feel uncomfortable when running and slow them down considerably. If the sport requires a lot of hand eye coordination and is a fine skill, then headaches and confusion are going to hinder your performance considerably. For example, if you watch a Snooker or Darts player they will always have a jug of water next to the board or table to drink from between shots. 

Class Notes (2015) The above table shows the fluid guidelines for before, during and after exercise. This will change depending on the type of sport and environment in which its being played in. For example, if the sport is intense and a lot of sweat is being lost, combined with hot sunny conditions then the sport performer may want to take on extra fluid during the exercise or implement more breaks for fluid replacement.

Class Notes (2015) Above shows how to work out sweat losses and sweat rates. To give you a more accurate guideline, some professional athletes will work out their sweat losses and sweat rates in order to know how much fluid to take. Every athlete is different and by knowing the exact amount of fluid intake required for you body will maximise your performance as the body doesn't have too much or too little fluid. This may only be a slight advantage but if opposition athletes have taken too much they may feel heavy and bloated meaning you can move quicker and sharper than them. Or if they haven't hydrated enough they will become weak, slower and not as mentally quick; all disadvantages to the opponent.

References:

Derbyshire E (2015) The Essential Guide to Hydration [Online] Available from: http://www.naturalhydrationcouncil.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2012/06/The-Essential-Guide-to-Hydration-AUG1.pdf [Accessed 2015]

Lucozade Sport (2012) Lucozade Sport Performance Day 2012 - Hydration [Online Video] Available from: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WzB-sPj9uOQ [aCCESSED 2015]

Class Notes (2015) Hydration and Sports Drinks [Online] Available from: http://vle.chesterfield.ac.uk/course/view.php?id=3196 [Accessed 2015]

Class Notes (2015) Nutrition for Sports Performance [Online] Available from: http://vle.chesterfield.ac.uk/course/view.php?id=3196 [Accessed 2015]