The Ultimate Festival Survival Guide: How To Stay Hydrated

Festival season is upon us, with the anticipation of big events such as Glastonbury and Parklife just around the corner. There’s nothing to beat the buzz of celebrating your favourite live music with thousands of like-minded people in the open air. However, this hedonism can come at a cost, especially if you don’t manage your hydration properly. 

It can be easy to underestimate the physical demands of attending a large busy festival, and access to fresh drinking water is not always readily available. Here’s how to stay savvy with your hydration, and how to harness the power of electrolyte tablets as your survival weapon. 

 

Why we need to take extra care with hydration at festivals

The forecast for Glastonbury is looking promising, with plenty of warm sunshine and dry weather. This means festival-goers will be spending all day in the sun, most likely dancing, belting out lyrics, chatting, drinking alcohol, and walking long distances between stages. This all adds up to a recipe for dehydration disaster.

It’s all too easy to become dehydrated without even realising it, particularly when we are pulled out of our usual daily routines with plenty of things to distract us from drinking regularly (beer doesn’t count). It’s likely that you will be sweating more than usual with the warm temperatures, heat of the crowd, and constantly being on your feet. 

Maybe you are even deliberately not drinking much to avoid a dreaded visit to the toilets. However, dehydration doesn’t just mean putting up with a dry mouth and thirst: it can have unpleasant consequences such as thumping headaches, dizziness, and muscle cramps, exhaustion, and could even develop into serious heatstroke. 

As you can imagine, dehydration will severely damage the quality of your festival experience, and could even lead to a very disappointing and miserable early journey home. 

Why it’s not just a case of drinking water

You might be thinking: “As long as I drink a glass of water every couple of hours, I’ll be fine”. However, it is not quite that simple. When we sweat, we also lose essential minerals called electrolytes. Sodium, magnesium, potassium and chloride play a key role in maintaining the body’s fluid balance and energy levels, and support proper nerve and muscle function. 

Therefore, if you have been sweating a lot and losing key electrolytes, drinking water alone won’t replenish them. The rehydration process also takes longer, because electrolytes help the body’s cells to absorb nutrients and water. In fact, drinking water can dilute the remaining minerals in the body, slowing the process even further.

Electrolyte tablets help you bounce back faster by replenishing the lost minerals. All you need to do is pop a tablet in your water bottle and let it dissolve. 

 

More tips for staying hydrated over a festival weekend

• Carry a reusable water bottle with you, preferably an insulated one so your water stays cooler and is more appealing to drink. Large festivals such as Glastonbury and Latitude have drinking water stations at intervals across the site, so that you can top up whenever you need to. 

• Avoid too many caffeinated drinks, as these can dehydrate you. If you are drinking alcohol, follow up every pint with a couple of glasses of water 

• Add a rehydration tablet to a glass of water as part of your wake up routine, so that you will be starting the day on the right foot

• Set reminders to drink a few sips of water every hour. It can be easy to forget when you’re caught up in the social whirl

Dress for comfort as well as style: for some people, a festival is a chance to showcase their fashion sense, but you will thank yourself for wearing lightweight breathable fabrics. A sun hat or bandana will help to keep you cool, and shades and sunscreen will protect you from harmful UV rays. 

• Plan your day: planning your day too carefully can take some of the spontaneity away from the weekend, but loosely structure your days so that you have some time out. Find out when and where your must-see acts are playing, and plan some quieter times to get some nutritious food, recharge your batteries, and catch up with friends. 

Designate a meeting spot: festivals can be overwhelming places, particularly if you are not used to crowds. Plan a meet up point where you can find your friends if you get lost, and consider using location sharing apps. Look out for anyone who might be struggling with dehydration, and be ready to offer them oral rehydration salts.