How Long Does It Take for Your Body to Rehydrate (2024)

FAQs

How Long Does It Take for Your Body to Rehydrate? ›

If you are mildly dehydrated, you may start to feel better within 30 minutes to an hour after drinking fluids. However, it takes several hours for your body to fully rehydrate and for symptoms like thirst and fatigue to completely resolve. Moderate dehydration typically takes several hours to a day.

If you resolve the issue that caused dehydration and you get the correct amount of fluids, mild to moderate dehydration should go away in less than a day. You should seek treatment for severe dehydration in a hospital. With appropriate treatment, dehydration should resolve within two to three days.

For mild issues, you can begin to rehydrate in a just few minutes. However, you will need to rest and continue to replace fluids for several hours before you begin to feel better. This process can take up to 36 hours- and possibly hospital treatment- to recover from more advanced dehydration.

Mild to moderate dehydration can be cured by simply rehydrating your body with fluids. Eating foods with a high water content will also help with rehydration, such as fruits and vegetables. Strawberries and watermelon are 91% water, while lettuce can contain 96% water and celery 95%, according to My Food Data.

It depends on a variety of factors such as how dehydrated you are and how much water you drink at once. In general, however, it usually takes about two hours for your body to rehydrate fully after drinking a significant amount of water. As for how you should rehydrate, water is the best choice.

If you are experiencing mild dehydration, the body can rehydrate in 45 minutes with around 600mL of water. For more severe dehydration, it can take longer and will usually require medical attention. The more dehydrated you are, the longer it will take for your body to recover.

It's normal to lose water from your body every day by sweating, breathing, peeing, pooping, and through tears and saliva (spit). Usually, you replace the lost liquid by drinking fluids and eating foods that contain water. If you lose too much water or don't drink and eat enough, you can get dehydrated.

What not to eat when you are dehydrated? ›

Avoid alcohol, caffeine, soda, or sugar-sweetened beverages because these can dehydrate you even more. If you have kidney issues, the foods on this list may not be right for you, and a healthcare professional may need to monitor your electrolyte and nutrient intake closely.

Severe dehydration is life threatening for children and adults. You should call 9-1-1 or go to your nearest urgent care center for these symptoms: Urinating small amounts of dark-colored urine. Not urinating.

You can quickly check for dehydration at home. Pinch the skin over the back of the hand, on the abdomen, or over the front of the chest under the collarbone. This will show skin turgor. Mild dehydration will cause the skin to be slightly slow in its return to normal.

If you are mildly dehydrated, you often will start to feel better within 10 to 15 minutes of drinking water, a sports drink, or juice. For moderate dehydration, you typically will be treated with intravenous hydration in urgent care or the emergency room over the course of a few hours or a day.

A few hydrating drinks outside of water include electrolyte drinks, sports drinks, fruit juices, tea, coconut water, and milk. There is not enough evidence to support any fluid being more hydrating than water, but we do know that some drinks such as milk can aid in water retention.

Eat Water-Rich Fruits and Veggies

Want to know how to get hydrated fast naturally? Munch on strawberries, watermelons, oranges, pineapples, cantaloupes, and grapes, among other fruits with high water content! They make great, healthy snacks to enjoy, especially when you feel dehydration coming on.

Dehydration can be mild, moderate, or severe, based on how much of your body's fluid is lost or not replaced. Severe dehydration is a life-threatening emergency.

We all need to drink water — typically, more than we realize. But what if you drink loads of water every day but are still feeling thirsty and dehydrated? It can be a sign that something else is going on. Factors like your medication, how much you sweat and if you're sick can affect your levels of hydration.

For mild cases of dehydrated skin, it may only take a few days of consistent moisturizing and drinking plenty of water to see a significant improvement. However, more severe cases of dehydrated skin may take several weeks of consistent treatment to see an improvement in hydration levels.