How To Create Your Own Personal Hydration Plan

For most of us, drinking enough water is an important part of wellness. But have you ever wondered how much water you should drink before and after you sauna to achieve optimum results? Learn how to calculate your ‘sweat rate’ and create your own personal hydration plan in the process.

Each of us has a unique rate at which we sweat, based on many factors such as: body weight, fitness level, pace and intensity of activity, temperature, humidity, clothing, and hydration level. Knowing what your ‘sweat rate’ is for any given activity, including taking a well-earned sauna, helps you to better understand how your body works and how to get it functioning at its best. 

Why knowing your ‘sweat rate’ important

Athletes in training drink an average of 400-600 ml two hours before intense exercise, which equates to 5-7 ml/kg of weight. While we might not all be elite athletes, it is still important to manage our hydration levels throughout the day and adjust them to fit our body and wellness goals.

Calculating your ‘sweat rate’

Determining your baseline sweat rate for a specific activity follows this simple formula:

Pre-activity weight – Post-activity weight + ml/cups consumed during activity = Your sweat rate

You can use this equation for any activity you do and get an idea of how much water you need to replace when you’re exerting energy and sweating.

Find Your Sauna Sweat Rate

For your sauna sessions, one way to use the equation is to apply the ‘Weight Method’:

1. Weigh yourself without clothes right before you step into the sauna. The more exact you can be, the better, down to the ounce.
2. Enjoy your sauna session and then record the temperature, time, what you wore, what you did (relax, stretch, yoga, meditate), and how much water you drank (or didn’t drink) during your session in ounces.
3. Weigh yourself again without clothes immediately after you step out of the sauna.
4. Do the maths by taking your post-sauna weight away from your pre-sauna weight and adding the mls of water you drank during the session. Remember: 0.45 kilogram = 473 ml/2 cups of fluid. The resulting measure of milliliters is your sweat rate.
5. Use that rate as a baseline going forward. You now have an idea of how much you want to hydrate to prepare for your session and rehydrate after.

Helpful Real-Life Example: Brooke & mPulse Believe

Sunlighten customer Brooke has a condition that makes regular exercise difficult, and so she uses her sauna regularly, particularly for its health benefits. However, she wanted to maximise the impact of the sauna by hydrating correctly, so she tracked her sweat rate for a 20-minute session. Here is what she found:

Create Your Personal Hydration Plan

This sweat rate calculation method helps you make customised decisions about your body and how much to drink before, during and after a sauna. The goal for optimal health is to make sure that you do not lose more than 2-3% of your total body weight.

Keep in mind, your sweat rate simply tells you how much fluid your body loses. The most recent research supports that thirst is the best guide for determining fluid intake; so always listen to your body and drink when you feel thirsty. Now you can sweat with confidence that you

Visit our website to learn more about the benefits of a good detoxing sweat and be sure to explore the Sunlighten blog for more tips on how to increase your health and wellness.