5 Steps To Optimize Hydration | Andrew Huberman

Summary

This script offers a comprehensive guide to optimizing hydration for better performance. It emphasizes the importance of drinking a significant amount of water upon waking up, adjusting the quantity based on body weight, and sipping water close to bedtime to avoid sleep interruptions. The discussion also touches on the role of food in hydration, suggesting a diet rich in whole foods like watermelon and meat, which naturally contain water. It warns against the overconsumption of processed foods, which can lead to dehydration and the need to balance electrolytes, especially when transitioning to a healthier diet.

Takeaways

• 💧 Start the day hydrated by drinking a significant amount of water in the morning, adjusting the volume based on your body size.
• 🌙 Avoid drinking large amounts of water at night to prevent disrupting sleep and frequent urination.
• 🥤 Sip water gradually throughout the day to maintain hydration without quickly expanding blood volume and promoting urination.
• 🍉 Incorporate high-water-content foods like watermelon into your diet for natural hydration, and consider their sugar content in moderation.
• 🥩 Understand that foods like meat can also contribute to hydration due to their water content, even after cooking.
• 🍪 Be cautious of processed foods which are often dehydrated and high in salt, leading to potential hydration and health issues.
• 🧂 If transitioning to a diet rich in whole foods, ensure to add salt to your diet to replace what might be lost from reduced processed food intake.
• 🌞 Prioritize consuming water earlier in the day to enhance performance and avoid disrupting sleep with late-night hydration.
• 💤 If waking up frequently to use the bathroom, consider adjusting your pre-sleep hydration routine and monitor your mouth's dryness for signs of dehydration.
• 🏃‍♂️ For optimal performance, maintain hydration by balancing water and electrolyte intake, especially during physical activities.

Q & A

What is the recommended amount of water to drink first thing in the morning for hydration?

The amount depends on the individual's size. For someone around 165 to 170 pounds, 16 ounces of water is suggested, while someone who is 225 pounds might need around 30 ounces.

Why is it advised to drink water slowly rather than chugging it?

Drinking water too quickly can rapidly increase blood volume, leading to the body getting rid of it faster, which is not efficient for hydration.

How does the timing of water intake before sleep affect sleep quality?

Drinking a lot of water right before sleep can compromise sleep by causing more frequent trips to the bathroom. It's recommended to sip water in the hours leading up to sleep.

What is the suggested guideline for fluid intake in the three hours before sleep?

It's advised to limit fluid intake to sipping as needed in the three hours preceding sleep to avoid waking up frequently to use the bathroom.

Why might someone wake up with a dry mouth at night?

Waking up with a dry mouth could indicate dehydration or mouth breathing during sleep. If it's accompanied by large urinations, it's likely due to mouth breathing.

What is the significance of eating whole foods for maintaining hydration?

Whole foods often have high water content, which contributes to hydration. Additionally, they are less likely to be highly processed and dehydrated, unlike many processed foods.

How does the water content in food like watermelon compare to other foods?

Watermelon is over 95% water, making it an excellent hydrating food source. In contrast, foods like biscuits can be as low as 10% water.

What is the role of salt in maintaining hydration when transitioning to a whole food diet?

When switching to a whole food diet, it's important to add salt back into the diet to replace the sodium lost from reduced processed food consumption, which can help with hydration.

Why is it important to monitor both mouth dryness and urination frequency when assessing hydration status?

Mouth dryness and urination frequency can indicate different hydration issues. Dry mouth with frequent urination may suggest mouth breathing, while dry mouth without much urination could indicate actual dehydration.

What is the 'five-step cheater guide' mentioned in the script for optimizing hydration for performance?

The guide includes starting the day hydrated, eating mostly whole foods, managing water intake around sleep, and adding salt back into the diet, which are all strategies to optimize hydration for better performance.

Outlines

00:00

💧 Optimizing Hydration for Performance

The first paragraph emphasizes the importance of hydration for physical performance. It introduces a hydration formula, suggesting half an ounce of water per pound of body weight for starting hydrated, and two milliliters per kilogram of body weight divided by 30 to maintain hydration. The speaker provides a 'cheater guide' with a five-step plan to optimize hydration. The initial step is to drink a significant amount of water first thing in the morning to kickstart the day and avoid disrupting sleep with late-night water consumption. The amount of water varies based on body size, with examples given for individuals weighing 165 to 225 pounds. The paragraph also touches on the effects of drinking water too quickly, which can lead to increased blood volume and subsequent need to urinate. It advises sipping water in the hours leading up to sleep and suggests limiting fluid intake three hours before bedtime to prevent nocturnal awakenings to use the bathroom. The speaker also discusses potential reasons for waking up with a dry mouth, such as dehydration or mouth breathing, and suggests solutions like mouth taping to improve sleep quality.

05:02

🍉 The Impact of Diet on Hydration

The second paragraph discusses how food choices significantly affect hydration status. It highlights that certain foods, like watermelon, are high in water content and can contribute to hydration without being overly high in sugar or carbohydrates. The speaker challenges common misconceptions about sugar intake, emphasizing that moderation is key, especially for those prone to overconsumption. The paragraph also contrasts the hydrating properties of whole foods, like meat, with the dehydrating effects of highly processed foods, which are often low in water content and high in salt. The speaker suggests that a diet rich in whole foods can naturally increase fluid intake and improve hydration. However, they caution that transitioning to such a diet may require additional salt intake, either through electrolyte supplements or by seasoning food to taste, to maintain proper electrolyte balance.

Keywords

💡Hydration

Hydration refers to the state of having adequate water in the body to maintain normal physiological functions. In the video, hydration is a central theme, with the speaker emphasizing the importance of being well-hydrated for optimal performance. The script provides guidelines on how to maintain hydration throughout the day, including starting the day hydrated, consuming water throughout the day, and avoiding excessive water intake before sleep to prevent sleep disturbances.

💡Body Weight

Body weight is mentioned in the context of calculating water intake, with the script suggesting half an ounce of water per pound of body weight as a guideline for staying hydrated. This concept is integral to the video's message as it provides a personalized approach to hydration, taking into account individual differences in body size and composition.

💡Milliliters per Kilogram

This term is used to provide a metric-based guideline for water intake, suggesting two milliliters of water per kilogram of body weight divided by 30. This concept is crucial for viewers who prefer metric measurements and helps in understanding how much water to consume based on their body weight to maintain hydration.

💡Cheater Guide

The 'cheater guide' mentioned in the script is a simplified, five-step guide for optimizing hydration. It serves as a practical tool for viewers to quickly understand and implement the hydration strategies discussed in the video, making the information more accessible and actionable.

💡Water Intake Before Sleep

The script advises limiting water intake three hours before sleep to prevent waking up frequently during the night to use the bathroom. This tip is important for maintaining sleep quality and is directly related to the video's theme of optimizing hydration for overall well-being.

💡Mouth Breathing

Mouth breathing is discussed as a potential cause for waking up with a dry mouth and needing to drink water during the night. The video suggests that addressing mouth breathing, possibly with tape or a dilator, can improve sleep quality and reduce unnecessary nighttime fluid intake.

💡Whole Foods

The concept of 'whole foods' is introduced as a dietary strategy to improve hydration. The speaker suggests that consuming whole, unprocessed foods can contribute significantly to daily water intake, as many foods like watermelon and meat contain high water content. This advice is part of the broader message on achieving hydration through both food and drink.

💡Electrolytes

Electrolytes are mentioned as essential components for maintaining proper fluid balance in the body. The script suggests adding salt back into the diet, either through food or electrolyte supplements, to counteract the effects of a diet low in processed foods, which are often high in salt. This concept is important for understanding the balance between hydration and electrolyte balance.

💡Performance

Performance is a recurring theme in the video, with the speaker linking proper hydration to enhanced physical and cognitive performance. The script provides hydration strategies aimed at optimizing performance, such as consuming water first thing in the morning to kickstart the day and maintaining hydration levels throughout the day.

💡Diuretic

A diuretic is briefly mentioned in the context of medical intervention for individuals with excessively high blood volume. While not a primary focus, this term is used to illustrate the potential health risks of overhydration, providing viewers with a cautionary note about the importance of balancing water intake.

Highlights

The importance of starting hydrated with a half ounce per pound of body weight equation.

Maintaining hydration throughout the day with two milliliters per kilogram of body weight divided by 30.

The five-step guide for optimizing hydration for performance.

Drinking a lot of water first thing in the morning to kickstart hydration.

Avoiding excessive water intake at night to prevent compromised sleep.

Scaling water intake based on body weight, from 16 ounces for smaller individuals to 30 ounces for larger ones.

The recommendation to sip water rather than chug to prevent rapid blood volume expansion and subsequent urination.

The potential issue of waking up at night to use the bathroom due to excessive pre-sleep fluid intake.

Limiting fluid intake to sipping in the three hours preceding sleep.

The possibility of waking up with a dry mouth indicating dehydration or mouth breathing.

Using mouth taping or dilators to reduce mouth breathing and nighttime fluid intake.

The impact of food choices on hydration status, with fruits like watermelon being high in water content.

The misconception about sugar content in watermelon and its actual hydration benefits.

The role of whole, real foods in maintaining hydration compared to processed foods.

The need to add salt back into the diet when transitioning from processed to whole foods to maintain electrolyte balance.

The suggestion to use electrolytes or salt food to taste for proper hydration and electrolyte balance.

Transcripts

three parts start hydrated

maintain hydration throughout

part three is hydrate post to fix it

okay we gave you the half ounce per

pound of body weight equation so you

start the training hydrated we gave you

the

you know two milliliters per kilogram

slash body weight divided by 30.

to stay hydrated let me give you the 125

but I can actually just give you sort of

I'm giving you another list here I'm

sorry but it is my five-step cheater

guide

for optimizing hydration for performance

sorry step number one drink a lot of

water first thing in the morning this

gets everything kickstarted get you

going it also saves you from having to

drink a bunch of water at night which is

then going to compromise your sleep

what's a lot depending on how big you

are the general thing I'll tell people

is like one of the very first things you

should do throughout your day you wake

up

go to the bathroom as you're consuming

your sunlight consume water this is

maybe chugging a full glass it's

honestly what I do it's not the best

route but I'll just get 16 ounces 16

ounces or so is great it's fine if

you're larger

um you know I'm 165 to 70 pounds

depending on what's going on maybe a

little higher sometimes if you're 225

pounds maybe that number is 30 ounces

okay so you just sort of scale up and

down and the only reason I say a lot is

it just depends on what you're doing and

I also should clarify I don't really

literally mean chug just like sips

because the faster you drink water the

faster it's going to expand blood volume

the faster it stands blood volume the

faster you get rid of it

um I don't think a lot of people will

know that yeah this is uh maybe this is

clarifying this is also we sort of

talked about earlier if you drink too

much water you'll dilute the system well

if you have a diluted system your body's

first reaction is to rid of water to

bring total blood volume down right

remember if you were to go to a doctor

and they look at your total blood volume

they're like man you're five and a half

liters you're gonna be like holy crap

you're gonna be put on a diuretic

because you don't have a heart attack

blood pressure I wonder if people are

drinking a 16 ounce glass of water or

other fluid all at once before going to

sleep and that's why they're waking up

in the middle of the night totally given

what you just said probably a better

um protocol would be to sip on a glass

of water in the final hour two hours

before sleep generally the number we say

is three hours in the three hours

proceeding sleep you want to basically

limit fluid intake to sipping as needed

I think that's I'm going to start that

tonight because I wake up generally once

per night to use the bathroom and I do

drink some fluids before I go to sleep

mostly because I'm pretty thirsty at

that time yeah

um but I'm gonna start sipping that

water in the uh three hours heading into

sleep yeah so you can actually pay

attention to his um

to go back this is actually I love doing

this stuff but if you're waking up at

night and you have a very dry mouth

not for me all right because it can be

one of two things you might actually be

dehydrated and so then what the mistake

people make is like man my mouth is so

dry I keep getting up to drink water at

night that makes you then pee too much

what that also indicates is probably

your mouth breathing so a lot of ways to

fix people waking up and urinating too

much at night is to tape your mouth and

or use a dilator over your nose and then

what happens is you don't feel like you

have a dry mouth so you don't get up to

consume any extra water throughout the

night so that actually reduces your your

fluid intake so you don't have the

problem of actually now having too much

fluid to do it and so there's another

reasons why mouth taping can really

really help um

if you are having those issues and or

snoring those are not benign that's a

really like you really should get some

work on those um something you're not

sleeping very well is the way I'll say

it it doesn't doesn't necessarily mean

something life-threatening but it's not

a good thing so you're going to run kind

of your triaging things back and forth

so if you're like I'm waking up to pee a

lot but my mouth isn't thirsty okay

great then you may actually have just a

water consumption issue if it is my

mouth is dry but I'm actually waking up

and I'm having these large urinations

then you're not actually dehydrated

you're just breathing through your mouth

if you're waking up and your mouth is

dry

and there's not a lot of pee there then

you actually might actually legitimately

be under hydrated so a little bit of a

game you can play there well that's

super informative I think that

um the point alone that

gulping a bunch of water all at once is

going to cause you to need to excrete

that water

soon after

um is a really important point also for

people that are going to I don't know

give a talk or you don't want to have to

get up to use the restroom you have to

sit through a long meeting yeah um

clearly I'm violating all these rules up

until right now I've been you know not I

sort of followed the seagull approach to

uh to consuming fluids just in

um enormous volumes I'm going to start

sipping um fluids instead

um what are some of the other rules of

hydration so you're going to wake up

you're going to start your day and start

hydrated so you know you're consuming a

larger percentage of your water earlier

in the day then you get all the

performance enhancing effects of water

and you don't have to worry about it

compromising your sleep so that's step

number one also now you're gonna start

your session closer to hydration all

right great number two eat mostly real

Whole Foods

why

interesting what you may or not have

thought about is a huge determinant of

your hydration status is your food

choices if you look at different foods

for example most fruit watermelon

watermelon is like 95 plus percent water

fantastic Source also by the way since

we're here it is not extremely high in

carbohydrate it's not extremely high in

sugar it is by percentage but since it

is almost exclusively water you're

eating it is not something that is

extremely dangerous in terms of sugar I

there alone probably all the things

we've talked about in the six six

episodes uh that comment right there

will probably blow the internet to

pieces and I'll probably get hate mail

for life for it but from people

sugar water throwing watermelons yeah

yeah oh my gosh well I don't think the

point is that sugar is necessarily bad I

think the point is that for most people

they're ingesting too much sugar most

people yeah um and it's interesting

oftentimes the people who are justifying

the ingestion of sugar are exactly the

kind of people that should not ingest so

much sugar so there's a little bit of a

well a user bias the point here is if

you're eating whole real food this is

like now we're kind of splitting hairs

about those things so

so morning hydration

yeah now important Point here

if you compare it to other Foods

um like actually meat is is a very high

percentage of fluid depending on how

well or long you've cooked it you just

remember you said earlier

or 70 water right so if you're eating

meat you're getting actually a big chunk

of water as you cook it of course you

lose some of that but meat can be like

I wouldn't call it a hydrating food item

but it is not as low as something like a

biscuit which can be actually like 10

water that's why it's like dry and dense

which doesn't mean it's bad for you but

there if you're eating highly processed

foods almost by association that means

they've been dehydrated

or portionably right so you're just

getting less total fluid intake in

addition they have also been highly

salted

in general right so now we're in this

position where we're under hydrated and

highly salted bad spot if you now switch

over to mostly again just mostly whole

real food-ish whatever that means to you

then your hydration is going to

Skyrocket you're going to have a lot so

you're eating a ton of food in fact it

should be a large percentage of the

fluid intake you have actually should be

coming from your food and you shouldn't

have to be smashing water bottles after

a water bottle all day in that case

though you do need to add salt back so

we do see this a lot with people who try

to make a transition from maybe a

sub-optimal Nutritional Lifestyle and

they give up a little bit of other

processed food and they come over and

they start having problems because

they're not actually consuming enough

salt

so add that back easy way to do that you

can use electrolytes and we could talk

about those numbers if you want if you

just salt your food that you're making

you know to taste that's going to get

most people in a pretty good spot