Summer is here, and festival season is back in full force. Whether you’re going to your favorite music festival, digging in at a food festival, or attending your local fair, it’s important to be prepared. This includes staying hydrated and making sure your body is getting everything it needs no matter how much fun you’re having.
In case you need a refresher, this is your guide to staying hydrated at every event or festival you attend this summer.
Why Is Staying Hydrated at a Festival Important?
Festivals are meant to be fun, but they are also a recipe for dehydration. In the joy and excitement of a festival, it’s easy to neglect our body’s needs, especially when it comes to thirst.
There are several reasons why staying hydrated is important at summer festivals. Some of these reasons include:
- Long days: Typically when people attend festivals, they go for at least a few hours, if not the entire day. It can be easy to forget to drink water throughout the day if you’re having fun or are not prepared with your own water supply.
- Hot weather: Summer festivals usually mean long days in the sun, so you’ll get dehydrated quicker. It’s important to provide your body with hydration throughout the day, especially if it’s hot out.
- Alcohol: Let’s face it — many festivals involve alcohol. However, since alcohol is a diuretic, it does dehydrate you. Drink enough water to counteract this effect or limit alcohol consumption altogether (more on this later).
Luckily, there are a few easy ways to stay hydrated during a festival. Let’s take a look.
How to Stay Hydrated at a Festival
Here are some tips on staying hydrated at an outdoor festival.
Drink Water
The first key to staying hydrated at a festival is to drink water. This tip is simple but still has to be said.
It’s easy to forget to do something so mundane while you’re having fun, but your body will feel the effects. Your water intake should be anywhere from 8 to 15 cups of water a day, and a festival day is no different. Drinking water is especially important if it’s a hot sunny day. You need to prevent extreme dehydration and keep your energy up to enjoy the festival.
To avoid buying bottled water throughout the day, make water consumption easy by bringing a reusable water bottle and refilling whenever you come across a water fountain. Many festivals and events have refill water stations, such as a Quench Buggy, to make it easy to refill your water bottle at your leisure.
Eat Well
Another key element to staying hydrated at festivals is to eat well. We get roughly 20% of our water from food, but that number could be more or less, depending on what you eat. You should try to maintain a balanced diet throughout the day, although this is easier said than done at a festival that offers food.
Festivals are often full of tasty foods that aren’t the best for you, including fried foods, salty foods, and sugary drinks. These foods don’t do much for keeping you hydrated, not to mention that they can make you feel too full and low energy for the rest of the day.
Instead, for hydration purposes, opt for something healthier, such as a salad high in water and other nutrients to give your body energy throughout the day. Make sure that your salad has all of the food groups added to the veggies — protein, carbs, and healthy fats.
Don’t forget to eat fruit – specifically fruits with a high water content such as watermelon and oranges. Not only is fruit hydrating, but it’s also refreshing on a hot day.
That said, don’t be afraid to indulge in festival food. If you follow healthy eating most of the time, it’s okay to treat yourself at an event. Just make sure to not overdo it with added sugar and soft drinks, and drink plenty of water.
Control Your Alcohol Consumption
As mentioned, alcohol is a diuretic that causes your body to remove fluid from your blood at a much quicker rate. At an outdoor festival, this means accelerated dehydration.
The effects are even worse if you’re attending an event that involves a lot of moving, like a music festival. Movement increases your body temperature, leading to more water loss.
Although most festivals involve some level of alcohol consumption, it isn’t advisable to drink an excessive amount if you’re trying to stay hydrated in the warm weather. You’ll get tired quicker and may even get sick.
There’s nothing wrong with enjoying a drink or two in moderation, but make sure you have a plan. If you are drinking alcohol, you must drink enough water to help your body process and recover.
Drink Electrolytes
The last tip for staying hydrated at festivals is to drink electrolytes.
You’ll most likely have a high activity level during any given festival. Whether that means a whole day of walking around, dancing to music, or participating in games, make sure that you prepare your body for a full day of physical activity and more sweat. That means counteracting the fluid loss.
In addition to water, you can meet your fluid needs by including drinks with electrolytes in your daily fluid intake. Electrolytes not only help you stay hydrated, but they’re also good for maintaining the required sodium levels in your blood. This will keep you balanced throughout the day no matter how much you sweat.
There are electrolytes in fruits and veggies, but other good sources of electrolytes are sports drinks or energy drinks. However, these drinks shouldn’t replace water. Be careful not to overconsume energy drinks – you shouldn’t have more than one sports drink in a day, and aim for one that’s as natural as possible.
Recap: Staying Hydrated at a Festival
To recap, the four things to do to ensure that you maintain good hydration at any outdoor festival are to:
- Drink plain water
- Eat well
- Minimize your alcohol consumption
- Drink electrolytes
Out of all of these ways to maintain proper hydration, drinking water will always come out on top, as it’s easy and a habit that most people naturally keep up anyway.
To ensure your guests stay hydrated at your next event, make sure you have a Quench Buggy available to refill their water. Contact us for more information.