How Hydration Affects Athletic Performance

In competition, an athlete should be hungry, at least metaphorically speaking. But thirsty? That’s no athlete’s goal, metaphorical or otherwise. Proper hydration for athletes is, of course, not simply a matter of avoiding thirst. Proper hydration is taking on and maintaining the optimal amount of water before, during and after exercise.

 There are other factors that contribute to achieving peak performance. An athlete must be mindful of getting proper rest, eating a healthy diet, finding focus, maintaining composure and doing all the training necessary to hone and access the skills demanded in the moment of competition. On different days and over different performances, any of those factors can be the primary reason you succeed or fail. But day in and day out, proper hydration for athletes is the key to getting the most out of your conditioning and making sure you don’t hit the wall before your opponent on game day.

Highlighting Hydration

We shouldn’t have to underscore the importance of hydration for athletes, but here some of the pitfalls of dehydration:

○ Fatigue

○ Dizziness

○ Muscle cramps

○ Nausea

○ Vomiting

○ Mental confusion

○ Weakness

Any of these issues can be symptoms of dehydration in athletes. But one way to see if you’re properly hydrated before symptoms occur is to monitor the color of your urine. The darker your urine, the more likely you need hydration. Colorless or light yellow urine is a good indicator that you’re well hydrated.

Here are a few ways hydration helps athletic performance:

○ Regulates body temperature

○ Lubricates joints

○ Carries energy-giving nutrients through your system

The simplest way to stay hydrated is to drink water. But research indicates there is a way to boost the positive benefits of good old H₂O by increasing its hydrogen content. In recent years, studies have shown that drinking hydrogen-rich water — water supplemented with molecular-level hydrogen — can improve sports performance, recovery and overall health.

One Japanese study tested adult male soccer players given hydrogen water or placebo water before exercising. The study found that oral intake of hydrogen water prevented the elevation of blood lactate during heavy exercise while avoiding the decrease in peak muscle torque found in athletes given placebo water.

Another study found that a hydrogen water regimen “significantly increased” fasting arterial blood pH. In other words, hydrogen water was believed to put subjects’ bodies in a more alkaline state. Such bodies, in theory, have more energy, function better and age more slowly than those that are less alkaline and more acidic.

Hydrating With Hydrogen 

The science is complex, but in simplest terms, the body needs a balance of free radicals (molecules formed during metabolism) and antioxidants (molecules that neutralize free radicals before they do damage). Intense, prolonged exercise is one way to throw that balance off, leading to an excess of free radicals and a physical state called oxidative stress. Over time, that can cause cellular-level damage and lead to conditions such as diabetes, high blood pressure, heart disease, neurodegenerative diseases and cancer, as well as accelerated aging.

Hydrogen is an antioxidant — and giving your body easy access to elemental hydrogen helps keep free radicals in check. Providing your body with hydrogen-rich water could improve your athletic performance, speed your recovery after games and workouts, and improve your overall health. 

Your Hydrogen How-To

Bottled hydrogen waters should be viewed cautiously. Most vessels, whether glass or plastic, do not hold molecular hydrogen long enough to make bottled products more effective than regular water by the time they hit store shelves.

Vital Reaction’s molecular hydrogen tablets can instantly transform your regular drinking water into a remarkably healthful drink. The antioxidants typically found in foods such as blueberries, spinach and kale can be accessed and absorbed as quickly as you can drink a glass of water.

Vital Reaction’s hydrogen tablets make hydration for athletes easy. Because our tablets are quickly dissolved in water, there’s virtually no quicker or more convenient way to take advantage of the health benefits of molecular hydrogen. To optimize your hydration — and your athletic performance — place your order for Vital Reaction hydrogen tablets today.