Drinking plenty of water is essential to being healthy. It’s a pretty straightforward concept, and most people recognize why it’s important to drink water throughout the day.
What people may not realize is why you should drink plenty of water after a massage. Many massage therapists will recommend getting rest and drinking water, and while it seems like common sense, there are specific reasons why they emphasize drinking plenty of water.
Let’s go over why you should drink plenty of water after a massage.
Dehydration
One of the most common reasons your massage therapist will tell you to drink plenty of water is to replenish lost fluids. During a massage, your muscles are manipulated, leaving you feeling dehydrated.
When dehydrated, you can experience headaches, nausea, light-headedness, sluggishness, and tiredness. These symptoms can be annoying and damper your ability to relax post-massage.
Drinking water is one of the easiest ways to rehydrate yourself, but other drinks can help. Drinking an electrolyte drink or a watered-down fruit drink can be beneficial.
How much water should I drink?
There’s not exactly a solid amount of water you should drink after a massage. Some people might tell you to drink three or four extra glasses of water, while some might go as far as to say to drink half your body weight.
You’ll also need to account for how much water you drank before your massage or how many foods you ate with high water content, like fruits and vegetables. This also doesn’t account for additional factors like how much exercise you got that day or if the weather was hotter than usual.
Reduce soreness or pain
It’s not uncommon to feel some soreness or pain after a massage. The discomfort can happen for several reasons, including not being used to getting massages or your body’s response to inflammation as it heals. Additionally, some massages, like a deep tissue massage, can leave you feeling more sore than other massages.
Drinking water can help reduce inflammation in your body and rehydrate tissue. The more you hydrate, the better your chance of reducing and preventing further soreness and pain.
Removal of waste
There is a lot of debate on this one, but it’s been said that drinking water after a massage can help with the removal of waste within the body. A lot of metabolic waste is released during a massage, which can cause your lymphatic system to work harder than normal.
Drinking water can be helpful during this process. Since your kidneys play a huge part in removing waste, you might find yourself urinating more often than normal. Drinking water to stay hydrated is important to replenish the lost fluid.
Other things to keep in mind
Drinking more water doesn’t mean getting more benefits from a massage, nor does it mean you’ll automatically be healthier. It’s more so you can have a safer and healthier relaxation and rest period post-massage.
It is possible to drink too much water, and you can experience conditions like water intoxication. You should be mindful of the amount of water you intake and ensure you don’t overdo it.
If a medical professional had previously told you to limit or restrict your fluid intake, you should default to what they told you.
Water is also not a miracle cure. If you experience severe symptoms like lingering painful soreness, you should seek professional medical help.
General tips for staying hydrated
An easy way to tell if you need to drink more water is how your body is feeling. Feeling thirsty is usually the best indicator that you should get something to drink, but there can be other indicators like the color of your urine or if you crave salty foods.
Here are a few other tips for staying hydrated:
- Drink some water once you wake up
- Avoid consuming too many sugary drinks
- Be careful of how many diuretics (caffeine, alcohol, etc.) you intake
- Carry a water bottle with you
Final Thoughts
Regardless of its benefits post-massage, drinking enough water should be a priority for everyone. It can’t be understated how valuable it is to drink plenty of water throughout the day and how much it contributes to staying healthy.
Next time your massage therapist tells you to drink plenty of water after a massage, think of it as not a chore but something you should naturally be doing. You’ll feel good, and your body will thank you.