When it comes to rehydrating both during and after your workouts, what’s the best temperature for your beverages? A new study finds (perhaps not suprisingly) that cooler drinks go down easier, keeping athletes better hydrated.
Scientists from the University of Sydney in Australia examined studies on how beverage temperature affects how much people drink during endurance exercise.
They discovered that athletes drank about 50 percent more when their drinks were 22 degrees Celsius (71 degrees Fahrenheit) or cooler, and “dehydration was reduced by 1.3 percent of body weight,” the study authors noted. Results were published on June 22 in the International Journal of Sport Nutrition and Exercise Metabolism.
Since 22 degrees Celsius is significantly warmer than drinks stored in a refrigerator, that means you can stay well hydrated with drinks stashed in your car for a few hours or attached to your bike on longer rides.
A 2010 study in the same journal found that drinking cool beverages during exercise can decrease skin temperature, prevent a rise in core temperature, and, in some cases, improve performance.
