3 Ways To Drink More And Up Your Game In and Out of the Bedroom

It is the most abundant and valuable resource on earth, but water also happens to be the most important thing your body needs to thrive, survive and perform.

So today, in honour of World Water Day, it’s fitting to explore the connection between water intake and physical performance – in and out of the bedroom.

Here at love2lose.com, we embrace the reality that physical and sexual performance are intricately linked and strive to provide you with the knowledge you need to properly fuel your body to perform.

There is much more to water intake than JUST physical performance.

Drinking enough water plays a number of critical roles, including: keeping you comfortable by helping to control your body temperature, aiding digestion by keeping your bowels regular and helping to remove waste from your body through urine.

All of these functions are essential for you to look and feel your best on a regular basis.

In terms of physical performance, we can clearly see that water intake and hydration are extremely important when we look at the science.

When water intake before, after or during physical activity is not sufficient, then performance suffers, and fatigue comes more quickly. Muscle cramps, for example, could be caused in part due to dehydration.

In order to help keep your water intake and performance at their highest, here are three very important things you should consider.

3 Ways To Hydrate For Optimal Physical Performance And Good Health

1. Know Your Needs: Your individual water needs will vary depending on your gender, age, activity level and the weather. Spending time in hot/humid weather can increase hydration needs. Generally speaking, a male should aim to drink 3.0 L (12 cups) of fluid daily, and a woman should aim for 2.2 L (9 cups) per day.
2. Do A Toilet Check: Not to get too gross, but your urine is a helpful indicator of how well hydrated you are. Clear or lightly coloured urine generally means you are properly hydrated, but a dark yellow shade suggests you are not.
3. Re-hydrate after intense activity: Dehydration after a workout can impair your performance later in the day if you don’t properly re-hydrate. So how do you know how much to drink? Weigh yourself before and after you work out. For every 1 kg you lose (1kg = 2.2 lbs) drink 1.25 – 1.5 L of fluid in the hours after (Travis et al., 2016).

Don’t be afraid to have food with some salt in it either, because this will help your body hold on to the fluids you drink, which you need. Keep in mind that alcohol does not count as a fluid!

Hydration and Sexual Function

Physical and sexual functions are strongly connected and one of the best and most overlooked ways to take care of yourself physically is proper fluid intake.

Some scientists believe that a lack of water intake could affect sexual performance in some men because a low water intake can contribute to low blood volume which in turn can lead to the release of a certain hormone (angiotensin) that is associated with erectile dysfunction (Thornton, 2009).

This is certainly something to keep in mind!

World Water Day: More Than Just Performance At Stake

World Water Day is a United Nation’s initiative aimed at bringing attention to the importance of universal access to water around the world, including the sustainable use of water.

I’ve presented water today in the Sexercise context as an essential component of physical performance, but it also has an incredibly important role to play in economic and environmental development around the world.

It is a resource that demands our respect and attention, and this is something that we must not take for granted.

I want to leave you with a simple take home message about what YOU can do today, and going forward, to help.

Rely a little bit more on more plant-based protein options such as legumes, tofu and soy milk which require FAR less water to produce than animal protein sources.

Less water usage, less waste and less environmental damage are all benefits of going more plant-based, not to mention the fact that it will help reduce your risk of type 2 diabetes (Melina et al., 2016).

Diabetes, by the way, can increase your risk of erectile dysfunction!

Source:

Position of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics:  Vegetarian Diets. Melina, Vesanto Craig, Winston Levin, Susan et al. Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics 2016, Volume 116, Issue 12, 1970 – 1980. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jand.2016.09.025

Position of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, Dietitians of Canada, and the American College of Sports Medicine: Nutrition and Athletic Performance Thomas, D. Travis et al. Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics 2016, Volume 116, Issue 3, 501 – 528. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jand.2015.12.006

Hydration Increases Tissue Perfusion and Thus Erectile Function. Thornton, Simon N. The Journal of Sexual Medicine 2009, Volume 6, Issue 9, 2621 – 2622. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1743-6109.2009.01358.x