How much water should I drink a day?

Needs vary with body size, activity, climate and diet. Urine colour and consistent intake through the day are more practical guides than a fixed number.

Do I need a sports drink?

For sessions under an hour in temperate conditions, usually not. They become more relevant with prolonged, heavy or hot-weather training.

Is this article sponsored?

This website may earn a commission on purchases made through links to the official Jellyforce store, at no additional cost to you. Our editorial standards and affiliate disclosure are published in full on this site.

Hydration and Performance: The Overlooked Basic

Q: Is Jellyforce a treatment for any medical condition?

No. Jellyforce is a dietary supplement and is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease, including erectile dysfunction or low testosterone.

How little it takes

Research on fluid loss consistently finds measurable declines in endurance capacity, strength output and cognitive performance at losses of around two per cent of body mass — a level most people reach without registering strong thirst.

For an 85 kg man that is under two litres. A hot day, a hard session, or simply forgetting to drink through a busy morning gets you there.

Why thirst lags

Thirst is triggered largely by blood osmolality changes that occur after fluid loss has begun. By the time you feel properly thirsty, performance has typically already dipped.

This is why 'drink when thirsty' is adequate for sedentary daily life and inadequate around training or physical work.

A practical approach

Drink a glass on waking — you have gone eight hours without fluid
Keep water visible at your desk or workstation; visibility drives intake more than intention does
Drink deliberately before and during training rather than catching up afterwards
Use urine colour as a rough gauge: pale straw is the target, dark yellow means catch up

When electrolytes actually matter

Not as often as sports marketing suggests. For ordinary training under an hour in temperate conditions, water is sufficient and a balanced diet supplies the sodium and potassium you lose.

Electrolytes become genuinely relevant with prolonged sessions over an hour, heavy sweating, hot or humid conditions, or repeated sessions in a day.

The interaction with everything else

Dehydration reduces plasma volume, which raises cardiovascular strain at any given workload — the circulation side of performance is directly affected. It also worsens perceived fatigue, which muddies any attempt to judge whether a supplement is working.

Fix hydration before drawing conclusions about anything else. It is free, immediate, and it removes a confounding variable from every other assessment you make.

Disclaimer: this article is general information, not medical advice. Jellyforce is a dietary supplement and is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease. Individual results vary. For healthy adults aged 18 and over. Talk to your doctor before starting any supplement, particularly alongside prescription medication.

Jellyforce Editorial Team

We write from the product label outward, check each ingredient against what it is genuinely studied for, and publish the unflattering parts too. See our editorial standards.

Keep reading

All 50 articles