Electrolytes aren’t hype. They’re not marketing. They are essential.
Electrolytes are electrically charged minerals that drive essential physiological processes throughout the human body. Communication between nerve cells, muscle contraction, and the maintenance of fluid balance and blood pH all require electrolytes.
When electrolytes fall out of balance, these processes fall with them.
Maintaining this balance is crucial to optimal performance, a necessary task for anyone demanding the most out of every aspect of life.
Daunting, not impossible.
Through deeper understanding, electrolyte balance can be optimized, and peak potential can be realized.
What We’ll Cover
What Are Electrolytes and How Do They Support Performance?
Sodium
Important Note: Sodium is not Salt
Chloride
Potassium
Magnesium
Calcium
What Is an Electrolyte Imbalance and How Does It Affect Performance?
Electrolyte Supplementation
Daily Recommended Doses:
Benefits
Electrolytes for Hydration
Electrolytes for Bone Support
Electrolytes for Rest and Relaxation
Risks and Considerations
Physiological Cornerstones
What Are Electrolytes and How Do They Support Performance?
Simply put, electrolytes are electrically charged minerals.
Many physiological processes in the body rely on electric gradients (read: balance of positive and negative charges) to work efficiently. Sodium, chloride, calcium, magnesium, and potassium all carry a specific electrical charge that allows them to influence these bodily functions.
Other functions in the body do not necessarily rely on changes in electrical gradients, but need electrolytes just the same.
Sodium
Sodium (Na+) is probably the most popular electrolyte, especially with the increased public interest in hydration. While sodium is a primary driver of fluid balance, to say supporting water retention is its only job would be a disservice (1).
Concerning water, sodium actually directs water in the body, helping to regulate blood volumes and pressures, and determine extra- and intracellular distribution (read: inside and outside the cellular wall) (1).
Sodium also plays a crucial role in the communication between nerve cells and triggers the electrical signal that begins every muscle contraction. (2)
Important Note: Sodium is not Salt
Sodium is not table salt, Himalayan salt, or anything in between. While salt is a primary source of sodium, they aren’t an exact one-to-one exchange. Sodium is a singular element. Salt is a compound that is a combination of two elements, sodium and chloride (thus, “sodium chloride”). To dive a little deeper, salt is 40% sodium and 60% chloride.
Chloride
Chloride (Cl-) often gets pigeon-holed as sodium’s sidekick, which isn’t completely wrong. Chloride works hand-in-hand with sodium to promote optimal hydration levels inside and outside the cells (3).
But, chloride is much more than the supporting role often suggested in marketing.
Chloride is a key player in maintaining the internal acid-base balance, an underappreciated role in performance physiology (4). The body operates in a very tight pH window (roughly 7.35 (more acidic) to 7.45 (more alkaline/basic)). As the body starts to favor one side of this scale over the other, physiological efficiencies start to shift.
Another unsung role of chloride is its critical function in the production of stomach acid. Without chloride, acid production shuts down, which can have resounding effects throughout the body (5,6). If the body can’t produce stomach acid, food doesn’t get digested. The line is not hard to draw for implications on performance, much less general health.
Finally, chloride has a negative charge, helping it to balance the positively charged compounds in the body and allowing for cellular communication (7).
Potassium
Potassium (K+) is a crucial electrolyte in the world of physiology. It is essential for maintaining cellular function, including neuron communication, heart and skeletal muscle contraction, and promotes optimal hydration (8).
Despite its importance, it is not a solo player. Many of these functions require both potassium and sodium. Together, these elements work to maintain optimal electrical gradients across cellular membranes. This relationship alludes to the bigger picture of electrolyte relationships. Many electrolytes often work together to elicit physiological processes.
Magnesium
Magnesium (Mg2+) is most commonly known for its involvement in muscle and mental relaxation (9,10). While it is completely accurate, it is another oversimplification of electrolyte function in the body.
Magnesium is involved in more than 600 enzymatic reactions (11).
Magnesium is a key driver in the production of adenosine triphosphate, more commonly known as ATP, the currency of energy that drives heartbeats, brain function, and everything in between (9, 10).
Magnesium is also an integral part of protein synthesis throughout the body (11). Though this includes muscle protein synthesis, magnesium’s reach is much wider, impacting protein synthesis for every cell in the body.
About 60% of the body’s magnesium is stored in the skeleton, where it plays a key role in bone breakdown and rebuilding. This influence determines bone strength and overall health (10).
Finally, magnesium is another electrolyte playing a role in maintaining electrical balance and supporting muscle contraction and nerve function (10).
Calcium
Calcium (Ca2+) is often typecast as a bone-specific element because of its role in supporting both bone and tooth health. But calcium’s influence on performance physiology reaches well beyond structural foundation (12).
Calcium plays an important role in skeletal and cardiac muscle contraction and nervous signaling (12).
Finally, calcium influences vascular tone, helping to direct blood flow throughout the body to working tissue (12).
The NOBULL Bottomline: Electrolytes are charged minerals that influence almost every physiological process. Sodium, chloride, potassium, magnesium, and calcium each play specific roles, but they work together to maintain fluid balance, support energy production, and keep muscles and nerves firing efficiently.
What Is an Electrolyte Imbalance and How Does It Affect Performance?
Electrolyte concentrations are constantly in flux. As such, imbalance can happen through multiple changes. Concentrations can fall outside optimal ranges (either too high or too low), or they can also fall out of range in relation to one another.
Imbalances can come from a variety of mechanisms:
- Natural heavy sweating
- Training in heat or humidity
- Drinking only water without replacing minerals
- Restrictive or low-electrolyte diets
- Long workouts or competitions
- High altitude exposure
- High stress
- Illness
- Poor recovery
Most imbalances don’t announce themselves with big symptoms. They show up as cramps in the middle of a set, twitchy muscles, sluggish energy, shorter endurance, or a constant feeling of thirst.
Muscle cramps and misfires are no joke. But there is one imbalance that haunts every athlete: hyponatremia, a situation where blood sodium levels drop too low. More often than not, this imbalance shows up in heavy sweaters and endurance athletes who focus on replacing water loss without considering electrolyte loss, specifically sodium loss.
As sodium levels drop, performance starts to suffer in a big way. Hyponatremia can present with multiple markers, like nausea, headache, and loss of coordination, to name a few.
The trick to avoiding these imbalances? Water AND electrolyte replacement, not just water replacement.
The NOBULL Bottomline: Electrolyte levels are constantly in flux. Imbalances develop when losses from sweat, long training sessions, heat, stress, or illness aren’t matched with mineral replacement. Most issues show up subtly, such as cramps, twitchy muscles, low energy, and fading endurance, until more severe problems like hyponatremia emerge from replenishing water without sodium. The solution is simple: replace both water and electrolytes to stabilize performance and physiology.
Electrolyte Supplementation
Let’s be clear. Electrolyte supplementation is not an all-the-time thing like marketers want you to believe. Most individuals consuming a standard Western diet, or some modified version of it, are getting a solid dose of electrolytes daily, especially sodium.
Daily Recommended Doses:
- Sodium: 2,300 mg
- Calcium: 1,000 mg
- Potassium: 2,600 mg (women), 3,400 mg (men)
- Magnesium: 310 mg (women), 420 mg (men)
- Chloride: 2,300 mg
With that said, supplementation is necessary when intake is too low or when stressors demand higher intakes.
Benefits
Electrolytes aren’t all about hydration. While many of these elements play an important role in hydration efforts, they also influence other aspects of performance physiology. To pigeonhole them into one category/ benefit is misguided and an oversimplification.
Electrolytes for Hydration
Hydration has become one of the most common areas calling for electrolyte supplementation, mostly 1) because water is constantly being lost throughout the day, and 2) most electrolytes help maintain optimal fluid balance.
Further, research has repeatedly demonstrated water’s crucial role in optimal performance. Through various mechanisms, hydration status has been shown to support both cognitive and physical performance, with as little as a 2% loss in bodyweight in water weight resulting in negative effects (1, 2, 3, 4).
Since sweat rates and related sodium loss vary substantially depending on activity, intensity, environment, and participant characteristics, a one-size-fits-all dose is hard to come by (5).
Nevertheless, a 2025 review does provide some guidance, suggesting that “drinking to taste” (read: drink as much as desired/tolerable) is sufficient to support fluid levels, especially as it comes to sodium consumption during exercise.
For those who need a numbered dose, a 2007 position stand from the American College of Sports Medicine suggests consuming between 20 and 30 mmol/l (460 and 690 mg/l) of sodium during extended exercise.
Electrolytes for Bone Support
Calcium and magnesium are two of the most prevalent electrolytes found in bone material.
Interestingly, recent research only suggests that magnesium supplementation is needed for the promotion of bone health. A 2021 review calls attention to bone benefits with a variety of magnesium dosing strategies, whereas 2014 and 2015 reviews question calcium’s efficacy (8, 9).
Together, these reviews suggest that focusing on adequate amounts of both electrolytes and potentially supplementing with at least 250 mg of magnesium can support bone health.
Electrolytes for Rest and Relaxation
Despite being one of the most under-consumed electrolytes, magnesium has gained much of its popularity as a sleep-supporting element. Research suggests that magnesium plays an integral role in the production of neurotransmitters that help promote mental relaxation (10).
A 2017 review demonstrates that these suggested mechanisms actually manifest into felt mood changes.
More recently, research suggests that adding potassium may be beneficial in aiding sleep efforts, though this may be due to correcting deficiencies.
Magnesium’s positive effects have been shown to reach beyond mental relaxation, with a 2024 review suggesting that magnesium supplementation promoted recovery.
Risks and Considerations
Electrolytes are generally safe when used as directed, but balance matters.
For healthy individuals, the main consideration is palatability and gastrointestinal comfort. If the mix is too salty, drinkability could be negatively affected, resulting in decreased fluid intake and negatively affecting performance. It can also lead to bloating sensations and negatively affect performance through increased perceived effort and general discomfort.
For those with certain issues, such as kidney complications or cardiovascular issues like high blood pressure, electrolyte supplementation should only be considered after consulting with healthcare professionals.
The NOBULL Bottomline: Supplementation isn’t always necessary, but it can be beneficial when optimal levels dip. Electrolytes support far more than hydration, influencing bone health, recovery, and relaxation. Like all things nutrition, balance still matters: use electrolytes strategically, adjust intake based on sweat loss, comfort, and individual health considerations.
Physiological Cornerstones
Electrolytes aren’t optional. They are essential.
Electrolytes send neurological signals, move muscles, cool systems, and support the chemistry that drives mental and physical performance under stress. In other words, electrolytes are foundational to everything performance physiology.
When they start to drift outside optimal ranges, systems start to suffer, and performance goes with them.
Master your electrolyte balance, and you don’t just hydrate better. You move, think, and recover…better.
