Why Water Isn’t Enough to Hydrate You on Long Flights
Aside from wanting to avoid the cramped airplane lavatory, there’s another reason to skip pounding endless bottles of water in an effort to stay hydrated on a long-haul flight—water alone often isn’t enough to keep your body properly hydrated. In fact, it can even work against you.
Here’s what many frequent flyers don’t realize—and how a smarter hydration strategy might make you feel better after your next long-haul flight.
This post is sponsored by NativePath.
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Why is Hydration Important When Flying?
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Why Electrolytes Are Important
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How to Hydrate Smarter on a Long Flight
- Low to moderate sodium—enough to assist fluid uptake, but not so much that you overshoot dietary guidelines.
- Inclusion of amino acids—for better absorption and retention of fluid.
- No sugar and minimal calories—avoid ones that might upset your digestion mid-flight.
- No artificial dyes or colors.
Cabin air is aggressively drying. Airliner cabins are typically maintained at a relative humidity of 10–20%. That’s far drier than a desert. That low humidity pulls moisture from your skin, mucous membranes, and—yes—from inside your body. Additionally, air pressure changes, mild diuretics (such as coffee, tea, or alcohol), and the body’s natural response to dryness all contribute to making frequent bathroom trips more likely. Drinking a lot of plain water can exacerbate this — flushing fluid through your system without letting your cells fully retain it.
Dehydration causes fatigue and contributes to headaches and muscle cramps, meaning you start your trip feeling less than your best. Drinking water helps, but without electrolytes, it doesn't always replace what’s being lost at the cellular level.
Hydration isn’t just about moving fluid into your bloodstream. Your body needs electrolytes (such as sodium, magnesium, potassium, and calcium) to help shuttle water into your cells and keep it there. Without them, water may linger in your bloodstream, lead to swelling (edema), or—ironically—get excreted prematurely.
Skip or limit coffee, caffeinated tea, sugary sodas, and alcohol, which trigger diuresis or draw water out from tissues. After landing, continue electrolyte-amino acid hydration until you’re fully re-landed.
It’s important to note that not all electrolyte supplements are created equally. Here’s what you should look for to ensure you’re getting one that will actually be beneficial:
Our pick for the hydration drink that checks all these boxes is NativePath Native Hydrate Electrolyte & Amino Acid Drink Mix. It delivers about 200 mg of sodium per serving (the ideal amount), with 14 vitamins and minerals, all nine essential amino acids, and 2,000 mg of BCAAs.
We love that NativePath Hydrate comes in convenient single-serving sticks—perfect for tossing into your bag and mixing into your water bottle anytime, anywhere. The flavors are a bonus, too: peach mango, mixed berry, and tangerine all taste great without any added sugar or artificial ingredients. Plus, every batch is made in the USA, produced in a GMP-certified facility, and backed by a Certificate of Analysis (COA) for quality assurance.