(Yes, this is way too much information... but it's all important.)
Dehydration is a serious concern, and as NinjaScot says, it could ruin your entire weekend (or worse). There's a lot of information to know about keeping your body hydrated and healthy.
NDK is in Denver, which is at a pretty high altitude and high altitudes make it easy to get dehydrated. You lose moisture from your skin and lungs quickly at high altitudes. And the relatively low humidity just makes you lose moisture more rapidly. Additionally, it's easy to forget to drink fluids while at a convention. This is why it's so easy to get dehydrated and why we stress staying hydrated.
One of the major components of dehydration is an
electrolyte imbalance. Electrolytes help control various functions throughout the body. Any electrolyte imbalance is harmful, whether it's too many electrolytes or not enough. An electrolyte imbalance can be
life-threatening.
If you don't drink enough water, your body accumulates too many electrolytes. This can cause lethargy, weakness, and irritability. A severe imbalance can cause seizures and can even put you into a coma.
If you drink
too much water, your body doesn't have enough electrolytes to control where all the water goes. This can cause nausea and headaches. A severe imbalance in this direction can cause brain swelling, which can be deadly. (Remember the woman who died because she drank too much water at a radio contest trying to win a Nintendo Wii? That was a result of an electrolyte imbalance. Too much water went to her brain, which swelled so much it killed her.)
To prevent an electrolyte build-up, stay hydrated. It's as simple as that. (Hint: If you're hydrated, your urine will be relatively clear. The less hydrated you are, the deeper yellow it will be.)
To prevent electrolyte loss, there are two methods you can use:
- Drink sports drinks. Sports drinks like Gatorade and Powerade contain electrolytes, so you'll maintain a good balance if you drink them. You don't need to drink *only* sports drinks, however. One or two bottles a day would be more than enough to keep your electrolytes up.
- Eat a high-sodium snack. Look at the nutrition label on something. There's a listing for sodium--the primary electrolyte our bodies use. If you're drinking a lot of water, be sure to have a snack with a bunch of sodium--potato chips, pretzels, saltines (a.k.a. "soda crackers"), etc. Salty snacks tend to have the most sodium; a candy bar probably won't help you much here.
To keep hydrated, there's water in giant dispensers
ALL OVER the convention. The hotel was really good about keeping them filled last year. There are cups beside each dispenser and it's free for anyone. If you happen to be carrying around a bottle (hint, hint), go ahead and fill that up, too.
Also, here's a little tip that most people don't know:
most people confuse thirst for hunger. Your body's signal for "give me water" feels a lot like the signal for "give me food." Instead of reaching for some pocky if you think you're hungry, try drinking a cup of water instead. That hungry feeling may just go away and you'll stay hydrated. Dehydration also causes lethargy, so you may find that a cup of water will give you more energy with which to enjoy the con.
And finally,
not all drinks are hydrating. Ramune may taste good, but it's not going to be effective at taking away your thirst. Tea and juice are also bad at hydration. And
if you're thirsty, do NOT drink soda or alcohol. Both alcohol and the caffeine in soda have the opposite effect of hydration: they remove moisture from your body. They are the absolute worst things you can drink if you're near dehydration.
Only water and sports drinks are truly effective at curbing dehydration.
