How to Rehydrate Fast: What Works, What Doesn't

Sip, don't chug

A big bottle in one go mostly runs through you. Your gut absorbs water at a steady rate, and the kidneys dump what arrives too fast. Small, frequent sips, about a cup every 15 to 20 minutes, get more water into your blood than one giant gulp.

Add salt and a little sugar

Plain water rehydrates, but water with a bit of sodium and glucose rehydrates faster. That is the idea behind oral rehydration drinks: the sodium and sugar pull water across the gut wall together. A sports drink cut half with water, broth, or a pinch of salt in water with a splash of juice all do the job. Skip the energy drinks; the caffeine and sugar load work against you.

Eat something

Fruit, soup, yogurt, a bowl of rice. Food slows how fast fluid moves through you, which gives your gut more time to absorb it. Watermelon, oranges and cucumbers are mostly water.

Cool down

Heat keeps you sweating. Get into shade or air conditioning, loosen clothes, and put something cool on your neck. You cannot catch up while you are still losing.

What slows you down

Alcohol and a lot of caffeine make you urinate more. Very cold water is fine, but drinking so fast you feel sick is not. And if you are vomiting, drinking faster makes it worse; see our guide on rehydrating after vomiting.

When a drip makes sense

Drinking takes 45 minutes to a few hours to show up in how you feel, and it only works if it stays down. When you are far behind, cannot keep fluids in, or need to be functional soon, an IV puts a liter of fluids with electrolytes straight into the bloodstream in about 45 minutes. A licensed nurse comes to your home, hotel or office anywhere in New York and New Jersey, checks your blood pressure and pulse first, and a licensed provider reviews your health history before your first visit. For most days, water and food are enough. For the days they are not, we come to you.

Too far behind to fix with a glass of water? Book a Hydration drip at zenivspa.com.

All treatments are medical services. Every guest is screened, and every treatment is provided only under the clearance, prescription or standing protocol of a licensed medical provider. Compounded peptides are not FDA-approved unless stated. Nothing on this page is a diagnosis or a promise of results.