Introduction
This special series is for healthcare workers. In this workshop, I will provide specific tips that will address some of the unique challenges healthcare workers face when it comes to staying healthy and active. This is one small way we hope to give back for all the tireless work you have put in to keep our community healthy and safe.
Hydration Goals
The first area I will cover is about achieving your hydration goal while wearing PPE. This adds literally another layer of difficulty when it comes to making sure you are drinking enough during the day. Regardless, hitting your hydration goal is very important and I am going to show you how you can make that happen.
Step one is to make sure that you are hitting your goal on your days off. This is an easy first step as all of my previous tips, found in the hydration series, will be applicable. Follow these tips and you will be able to consistently hit your goal when not working. Being this vigilant on your off days can help offset the negatives if you fall short of hydrating when you are at work.
There are plenty of steps we can take to put you in the best position to achieve your hydration goal on days you do work. First off, when you wake up in the morning, start your day off with drinking water. Do your best to get ahead of the curve and wait before having coffee or breakfast until you have had 1-2 cups of water.
Start Adding Salt to Your Drinking Water
This is a good time to use the salt trick or add electrolytes to your water. If you wake up and start getting ready right away, make sure you have water around so you can drink as you get your things together.
Continue to hydrate throughout the morning or day because once you get to work it will be more difficult once you put your PPE on. When you are at work and do have the chance to drink something, reach for water over coffee or tea as it will do a better job of hydrating you. If you need that coffee, then just make sure you follow it up with something that will help rehydrate you.
Maximise Small Opportunities
Since we need to maximize the small opportunities when you get to drink at work, make the best of the water you drink by adding electrolytes or something else that could make it more enjoyable, so you drink more.
Once you have finished your shift, treat it as if you just finished playing a sport or had a workout where you focus on rehydrating. Treat the first two hours of being off work as time to replace any fluids that you missed out on during your shift. This will help offset the time you were unable to hydrate properly.
By Following these tips, we are making it a little easier to hit your water goal each day.
Chris Munro
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