Better Hydration Depends On Temp
Have you ever been in the middle of a long run and stopped to think, "Man, I could really go for a hot tea right now!" Didn't think so. But sometimes, a known truth needs to be verified by science, just so that the public can go through the forehead-slapping, "I didn't need science to tell me that!" reaction. Well, here's your chance.
According to a new research review published in the International Journal of Sport Nutrition and Exercise Metabolism, endurance exercisers are more likely to drink more water—and therefore stay better hydrated—while drinking cold water, as opposed to warm, for the simple reason that it tastes better.
The athletes studied drank a whopping 50 percent more water when it was chilled, which, according to the researchers, reduced dehydration by more than 1 percent of their body weight.
Not even a straight-from-the-fridge temp, researchers qualified "cool" water as being anything under 71º F—meaning you could toss a water bottle in the car and come back to perfectly palatable H2O.
Chill-Out Bonus: In an older study, researchers from the University of Birmingham, in England, found that cyclists who drank cold water on a hot day were able to work out for longer and harder than those who consumed luke-warm liquids.