How to Check If You’re Dehydrated

Not sure if that sweet craving or muscle cramp is a sign you need to hydrate? Here are two other ways to check if your body is dehydrated.

• Try this skin test. First, use two fingers to grab a roll of skin on the back of your hand (between where your watch sits and where your fingers start), advises Higgins. Pull the skin up about ½ to one centimeter high and then let the skin go. The skin should spring back to its normal position in less than a couple of seconds. Higgins says that if the skin bounces back slowly, you might be dehydrated. 
• Check your urine. If you’re well-hydrated your urine will be mostly clear with a tinge of yellow, Higgins explains. Yellow, chardonnay, and orange are the “warning” colors to watch for. When your body is about three percent dehydrated your urine will be noticeably yellow. When your body is about five percent dehydrated, your urine will appear chardonnay-colored. When your body is more than five percent dehydrated – which is considered severely dehydrated – your urine will appear orange.