Speaking of Safety
Approximately 60% of the adult human body is water, essential for bodily functions such as digestion, circulation, and toxin elimination. Dehydration in the workplace can lead to health issues and accidents, making proper hydration a form of personal protective equipment. Severe dehydration can cause heat stress, reduced mental performance, and impaired reaction time. Simply drinking water may not be enough for those working in hot conditions.
Many of the doctors and experts say that we need to drink two to two and a half liters of water each and every day. That’s about a half a gallon, to a little bit more than a half a gallon, of liquids a day. Now that is just for when we are at normal activity that doesn’t include if we were out in the sun, playing sports, or doing any other type of strenuous activity. Obviously when those things happen we need to increase that amount of liquid.
Unfortunately, most people wait until they’re thirsty to take a drink. Â But the truth is that if you’re feeling thirst, you’re already in a slightly dehydrated state. Â Catching dehydration early is key to addressing it before it has an impact on cognitive and physical function. Â Luckily, there are many other signs workers and their supervisors can be on the lookout for.
It’s not all about fluids. Â You could be forgiven for thinking that the only way to prevent dehydration is to drink fluids. Â After all, that’s about the only thing that comes to most people’s minds when they’re told to stay hydrated. Â But fluid intake is only part of staying safe in the heat or doing physically demanding work. Â In this article, we’ll look at 5 other factors that play a role in keeping your body hydrated.
Everyone knows staying hydrated is important. But not everyone really understands what’s in store for them if they let dehydration take over.  In this article, we’ll clear thing up by going over what dehydration does to your body. And we’ll end with some practical tips for staying hydrated throughout the workday. It shouldn’t come as a surprise that effects of dehydration are a lot worse than just feeling a bit parched.