The tickets are bought, the line-ups have been announced and it’s nearly time to drag last year’s tent out of the cupboard for a wipedown – and to evict a few dead earwigs. And this summer, there’s one more festival accessory that partygoers won’t be travelling without: electrolyte tablets.
Touted as a faster route to rehydration than water, and a way to replace vital salts lost during heavy drinking and partying, the focus on festivals is the latest twist in a global boom for electrolytes, as everyone from triathletes to YouTubers sings the praises of these super-hydrating mineral supplements.
Happy Tuesdays is selling “all-night electrolytes” for party people; Holy Hydration says its hydration powders are perfect for athletes and party people, replacing electrolytes and minerals lost from sweating; while ORS Hydration claims its tablets can help people to prevent or recover from hangovers. The UK health food chain Holland & Barrett is promoting electrolyte sachets and magnesium water as “festival essentials”.
But can they really take the edge off a hangover, or soften the infamous “Tuesday blues” that follow a weekend flirtation with substances of a less legal kind?
Electrolytes are minerals that are vital for basic bodily functions, such as regulating fluid levels, transmitting nerve impulses and ensuring the blood doesn’t become too acidic. The main electrolytes are sodium, potassium, chloride, magnesium, calcium, phosphate and bicarbonates.
“They are carefully regulated within specific ranges in the body. This is because levels outside the normal ranges – either too high or too low – can lead to life-threatening complications,” said Dr Sammie Gill, a specialist gastroenterology dietitian and spokesperson for the British Dietetic Association.
Fortunately, our bodies do an excellent job of maintaining the correct balance of these chemicals, with the kidneys playing a key role – so for healthy people, day to day, taking electrolyte supplements is unnecessary, Gill said. “There are so many foods that are rich in electrolytes, including plant-based foods and dairy. It’s not something people should be concerned about.”
One scenario where a healthy person might need electrolytes is after a bout of vomiting or diarrhoea. This can cause significant fluid loss and upset the body’s balance of essential minerals like sodium and potassium, In severe cases, rehydrating with a properly balanced solution – such as oral rehydration salts – can be life-saving.
Electrolytes may be useful in other situations – “for example, during periods of intense or prolonged exercise over an hour in duration, and especially in hot climates, or if the individual is a particular heavy sweater”, said Gill.
And while partying in a sun-baked field isn’t quite the same as running a marathon, it could, in theory lead to dehydration – meaning electrolytes may be useful here as well. That said, Gill said if you truly need electrolyte support, it’s easy enough to make your own. “Simply mix 200ml of water, 300ml of fruit juice and a pinch of salt,” she said. “Cow’s milk is also a naturally a rich source of electrolytes, including sodium, potassium, calcium and magnesium. You’re also getting additional nutrients, such as protein, that electrolyte supplements do not deliver.”
Whether electrolyte sachets can ease hangovers or soften the crash after taking recreational drugs is another matter. A recent review of UK hangover products available on Amazon found that most contain modest amounts of potassium, sodium and vitamin C. But although dehydration is often blamed for the misery that follows a night of drinking, the science tells a more nuanced story.
When researchers led by Joris Verster at Utrecht University reviewed the evidence last year, they found that although alcohol does cause some fluid loss, dehydration and hangovers appear to be parallel outcomes of drinking, rather than one causing the other.
In other words, although people often feel thirsty the morning after drinking, and may also feel terrible, thirst doesn’t reliably predict the intensity of a hangover – and drinking water during or after alcohol consumption has only a modest effect on symptoms.
“Yes, thirst and dry mouth are common the next morning, and an electrolyte sachet might help with those symptoms, but it won’t touch the main symptoms like headache, nausea, fatigue, or hangxiety,” said Dr Blair Aitken at Swinburne University of Technology in Melbourne, who investigates the impact of recreational drugs on cognition. “Current research points to inflammation, oxidative stress, and acetaldehyde buildup as the key drivers of hangovers, not fluid or electrolyte loss.”
Nor are they a cure for post-MDMA or ecstasy comedowns, Aitken said. These are thought to be driven by a temporary dip in serotonin, poor sleep, dehydration, and general physical and mental exhaustion. “You can’t simply restore a complex neurochemical system with a supplement and expect to feel normal again,” he said.
Interestingly, a small 2022 study from Imperial College London found no mood decline following MDMA-assisted therapy in clinical settings. “The authors suggested that the typical comedown might be more about context and expectation than the drug itself,” said Aitken.
Some ingredients in rave recovery packs, may offer a small lift – hydration, sugar, perhaps some caffeine or other energy boosters, but they are not cures. “The best you can do to support recovery would be sleep, hydration, food and time,” said Aitken.
That said, using electrolyte tablets after a night of dancing, sweating and consuming drugs or alcohol, is unlikely to be harmful, he added. “If people want to use them for a bit of post-party support, that’s fine – just don’t expect a miracle fix.”
