The Institutes of Medicine sets the water intake recommendations at 2.7 liters for women and 3.7 liters for men each day. While the water intake requirements are typically easy to achieve through water, juice, sports drinks and foods that contain water, if you're sick, exerting your body or in warmer, drier climates, you may need to make a conscious effort to supply your body with more hydration in an effort to avoid the negative and even deadly effects of dehydration.
Step 1
Drink during the day according to your thirst level. The sensation of being thirsty is one of the first warning signs of dehydration. While drinking a few sips of water may quench your thirst, it may not replace lost body fluids, so keep track of your water intake to ensure that it meets the daily recommendations. Keeping a water bottle on hand at all times can remind you to drink more and make water easily accessible to you.
Step 2
Hydrate the day before you plan to exercise strenuously. It's possible to help build up your hydration level so you're less likely to become dehydrated while exercising. Meet your 2.7 to 3.7 liter requirement the day before exercise, then drink 1 to 3 cups of water an hour or two before you begin. This ensures that your body has the optimum amount of water so you can continue to hydrate throughout exercise to replenish lost fluids and stay healthy.
Step 3
Drink 7 to 10 oz. of fluid for every 10 to 20 minutes of exercise to hydrate your body correctly. While water is the standard for exercise that lasts under an hour, long-term endurance exercise requires that you replace potassium and sodium as well as water in your body. Sports drinks help to replace the sodium and potassium lost in the body through sweat to help sustain your body as you continue to exercise.
Step 4
Switch to foods and snacks with a high water content when you're ill. Since you'll likely lack an appetite when sick with a cold, flu or other affliction, it's often necessary obtain both calories and hydration from the foods you're able to eat. Ice pops and soup broth are both excellent ways to ward off dehydration when you're sick.
Step 5
Monitor your hydration level through your urine output. When you're properly hydrated, you need to urinate often and your urine should be light yellow in color. When your body is dehydrated, your urge to urinate is less frequent and your urine turns dark yellow due to low water content. When you notice your urine becoming darker, it's time to begin drinking more to help prevent dehydration.
