Dehydration In Sports Performance

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HYDRATION:
One of the most important nutrients is water. The longest you would survive without water is 3 days. On a day to day basis we lose water through evaporation from our skin. This is known as core temperature. The fluid in the body helps to maintain the core body temperature. A problem that may occur is when fluid is lost and not replaced. Your body temperature will rise due to this loss and stimulate further sweating to try and release heat from the skin. Your core body temperature should be – 37 degrees
DEHYDRATION:
This is a condition caused by the loss of fluids that are not replaced. If you lose as little as 2 percent of body mass, this can cause signs of dehydration and being to affect your ability to perform muscular work. …show more content…

When ingested with high volumes of water, glycerol has been proven to increase water retention. This reduces overall heat stress and hot conditions, lowering heart rate and body temperature.
HYDRATION IN SPORTS PERFORMANCE:
If you’re an athlete, you should be encouraged to begin exercise fully hydrated. Training is seen as an opportunity to practice fluid-replacement strategies that run smoothly in competitive situations.
For example, this is known as the pre-event, before a rugby match, the athlete should aim to drink approximately 300-500ml of fluid about 10-15 minutes before you start.
This is known as the inter-event, during the match the athlete is recommended to consume 150-200 ml of fluid every 15-20 minutes. If you wait until half time to replace fluid the chances are you have already started the dehydration process. This is accelerated during intense activities as the fluid takes longer to be absorbed.
After the event known as post-event. Once the match is complete it is vital to replace the fluid that has been lost. It is recommended that you should replace 1 and a half times the amount of fluid …show more content…

Hypertonic drinks contain over 8% of carbohydrate and are absorbed slowly. They are ideal for fluid replenishment and may have to be consumed with other fluids. They are best used in the recovery stage after exercise.

Isotonic drinks contain the same concentration of glucose to water as the blood (4-8% glucose). They also contain sodium so that they are absorbed into the bloodstream quicker. This drink is useful when exercise has been prolonged or even during warmer weather. Isotonic drinks can also be used before exercise.

Hypotonic drinks have a lower concentration of carbohydrates than the others. They contain less than 4% of carbohydrates and are easily absorbed. These drinks encourage fluid replacement through enhanced taste.

The higher the intensity and duration of the exercise, the more important fluid replacement strategies become and the more likely that sports drinks will have a useful contribution to sports performance and recovery, by also providing energy not just fluid. Athletes will be on nutritional plans which should include fluid replenishment, this will allow the athlete to train

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