How To Tell If You're Dangerously Dehydrated
Dehydration can sneak up on you like a scorching burn. Here’s how to figure out if you’re getting drained.
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Rising Heartbeats
We know heart rate goes up with intensity and that it will tend to drift with long exercise, especially in the heat. However, if you're seeing heart rates that are 15- to 20-beats higher than you'd expect, it could be your heart is compensating for reduced blood volume—dehydration—by beating faster.
We know heart rate goes up with intensity and that it will tend to drift with long exercise, especially in the heat. However, if you're seeing heart rates that are 15- to 20-beats higher than you'd expect, it could be your heart is compensating for reduced blood volume—dehydration—by beating faster.
Swimming Head
You know how your head swims a bit when you suddenly stand from a sitting position? It’s called postural hypotension, and it’s the result of blood not reaching your head quickly enough as you change positions thanks to low blood volume. If you start feeling that while you're exercising when you change positions, that could be a sign of dehydration.
You know how your head swims a bit when you suddenly stand from a sitting position? It’s called postural hypotension, and it’s the result of blood not reaching your head quickly enough as you change positions thanks to low blood volume. If you start feeling that while you're exercising when you change positions, that could be a sign of dehydration.
Saggy Skin
Technically called “decreased skin turgor”—when the skin on the back of your hand doesn’t snap back from being pinched—saggy skin is a sign you need more fluids stat. “With normal hydration, the pinched skin should return back to normal essentially immediately,” says Pickels. With moderate to severe dehydration it will be slow to return. “Try it now (I know you are) by pinching your skin for two to three seconds and then letting go. That’s your baseline,” he says. If it’s slow to rebound during exercise, you’re dangerously dehydrated.
Technically called “decreased skin turgor”—when the skin on the back of your hand doesn’t snap back from being pinched—saggy skin is a sign you need more fluids stat. “With normal hydration, the pinched skin should return back to normal essentially immediately,” says Pickels. With moderate to severe dehydration it will be slow to return. “Try it now (I know you are) by pinching your skin for two to three seconds and then letting go. That’s your baseline,” he says. If it’s slow to rebound during exercise, you’re dangerously dehydrated.
Related: Is Your Water Hydrating You?
What’s That Smell?
If you take a nature break and it smells like you’ve wandered into a bus station bathroom, that’s another good sign to drink more says Pickels. “A strong urine smell can be a sign of dehydration.” Of course, it’s still good that you have to pee at this point, since once you hit severe dehydration urine production decreases dramatically. Avoid slipping into that next stage by boosting your fluid intake as soon as possible.
If you take a nature break and it smells like you’ve wandered into a bus station bathroom, that’s another good sign to drink more says Pickels. “A strong urine smell can be a sign of dehydration.” Of course, it’s still good that you have to pee at this point, since once you hit severe dehydration urine production decreases dramatically. Avoid slipping into that next stage by boosting your fluid intake as soon as possible.
This article was originally published by our partners at Bicycling.
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