Disclaimer: The information provided in this blog is for educational and informational purposes only and is not intended as medical advice. This content should not be used to diagnose, treat, or prevent any medical condition or health issue. Always seek the guidance of your physician or other qualified health professional with any questions you may have regarding your health or a medical condition.

That may not sound important, but it’s a big deal if you want to perform your best. You’d be surprised how much even mild dehydration affects your physical and mental wellbeing.

In addition, water isn’t enough to stay hydrated , especially during the hotter months of the year—you also need to replenish lost electrolytes to rehydrate properly.

Fortunately, restoring electrolyte balance is easy to do. Here’s a look at the mental and physical costs of dehydration, and how you can replenish your mineral stores to rehydrate fast.

• A 2019 study found that mildly dehydrated students performed 10-30% worse on attention and memory tests and made more errors during cognitive games . [ * ] They also had lower mood and greater self-rated fatigue .
  
  

• A 2012 study found that just 2% dehydration led to significant deficits in concentration, memory, and physical coordination . [ * ]
  
  

• In a 2010 study, mildly dehydrated people reported greater mental fatigue and lower overall energy . [ * ]
  
  

• A 2014 study found that mildly dehydrated people had a 16% decrease in muscle strength during a workout. [ * ] Their strength returned to normal after they rehydrated with electrolytes.
  
  

• In a 2001 study, people doing endurance training fatigued 17% faster when moderately dehydrated . [ * ]
  
  

Dehydration, even when it’s mild, takes a bigger toll than most of us realize.

You Need More Than Water to Stay Hydrated

Dehydration is about more than water. The fluid around your cells is rich in electrolytes—minerals with electrical charges, like sodium, potassium, calcium, and magnesium . Those electrolytes need to stay in balance for your cells to function properly.

When you lose water, you also lose the electrolytes the water contains, and small shifts in electrolyte balance throw off your cellular function. That’s why even mild dehydration of 1-2% can cause cognitive deficits and fatigue—your cells (including your brain cells) no longer conduct electrical signals properly, which leaves them struggling to function.

In other words, if you want to stay hydrated, you need both water and electrolytes .

• A 2021 study found that a mineral-rich drink was 22% better at rehydrating people , while those who drank plain water remained functionally dehydrated. [ * ]
  
  

• A 2019 study found similar results: after people spent prolonged time in the heat, mineral-enhanced water rapidly rehydrated them and restored muscle and cognitive deficits much faster than plain water did. [ * ]

The truth is that electrolytes hydrate you better than water, and the difference is largeenough to impact your physical and mental wellbeing .

Stay Hydrated with Minerals

So how do you replenish your electrolytes? Sports drinks are a popular choice—but most of them have either sugar or artificial sweeteners, and they usually use cheap forms of electrolytes that you don’t actually absorb well.

The same is true of most electrolyte tablets and powders: poor ingredients, low-quality minerals, and minimal bioavailability.

This is one of the reasons we created Electrolyze . It’s a concentrated liquid mineral supplement that delivers all the electrolytes you need in a fast-absorbing form.

With Electrolyze, staying hydrated is easy: just take a half-ounce shot in the morning, or mix it into your drink of choice and sip it throughout the day. It has no flavor and no unnatural ingredients—just pure, highly bioavailable minerals.

A lot of us are dehydrated, and the impact on performance is bigger than you’d think. Try adding Electrolyze to your daily routine, especially before workouts or during the summer months. You may be surprised by how much better you feel.