FESTIVAL season is here, so staying hydrated is very important, especially spending weekends in a field at a music festival drinking alcohol this summer.

Drinking alcohol dehydrates you faster because of its diuretic effects, so its important to stay hydrated whilst drinking. Nick Hird, hydration expert at Vidrate, shares his advice on how to stay hydrated when drinking alcohol this summer.

Nick says: “One way you can help to lessen the effects of dehydration from drinking alcohol is to supplement your consumption of alcohol with electrolyte powders. When you lose fluids from drinking alcohol, you also lose electrolytes so replenishing them helps your body retain water more effectively.”

“You can do this by drinking an electrolyte sachet in water before having alcohol to pre-hydrate and help mitigate the dehydrating effects of alcohol. Also have one before bed after drinking alcohol, or the next morning, to help replenish lost fluids and minerals such as potassium and sodium.

“It is important to opt for low sugar electrolyte sachets, as drinks with a high suagr content can worsen the de-hydration you are suffering from. Choosing ones with added vitamins such as vitamin C and B12 will also help to make you feel your best all weekend long.”

Nick explains: “When drinking alcoholic drinks, there is a hack that can help prevent you becoming dehydrated known as ‘Zebra striping.’”

“Zebra striping refers to drinking one glass or water, or another non-alcoholic drink, for every alcoholic drink that you consume.”

“This means that whilst the alcohol is having dehydrating effects, the water helps to prevent this from being too severe, helping you to remain hydrated and hopefully help with the hangover the next day too.”

Nick shares: “if you feel dehydrated, you likely just want to drink large volumes of water really quickly to help you stop feeling the effect of dehydration. However, drinking large volumes of water in a short amount of time can actually be detrimental and cause you other problems, such as inducing nausea and even vomiting in some cases, due to the levels of sodium in your system diluting down to dangerous levels.”

“Alternatively, it is best to sip on water over a longer period of time to prevent your sodium levels from diluting.”