What would happen if you didn’t drink any water for a day?
You might think that it won’t make much difference, but your body is 60% water and so you’ll die in less than three days. That’s because the human body needs water to function properly – without it we can’t sweat or digest food. Our cells will also start to break down, which means they can’t do their job of keeping us alive.
So, when exercising you need to drink plenty of water, because your body uses it up quickly. Most people don’t drink enough – especially when exercising – and so won’t be properly hydrated. This means that performance will suffer and you could even get sick.
The best way to know if you’re well hydrated or not is to pay attention to your mouth: does it feel dry? If so, then you need more water. Dehydration also makes your skin lose elasticity, which can cause a loss in strength as well as cramps from reduced movement in the muscles. Furthermore, dehydration can make you feel lightheaded or dizzy and may lead to fainting spells.
One final thing to remember is to drink water both during and after exercise. Drinking water after an exercise is especially important for athletes, as it helps replenish the electrolytes that your body has lost when you sweat.
Bottom line: Without enough water in your system, performance will suffer and your risk of injury from cramping or fainting increases significantly. Make sure to drink at least 8 glasses of water a day – but ideally even more than that!
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