Taking regular sips of a carbohydrate-electrolyte sports drink during a soccer match appears to help soccer players maintain their stamina, findings from a new study indicate.

A group of Brazilian researchers found that players who took small amounts of a sports drink every 15 minutes during a 75-minute soccer game lost less body mass -- a sign of being less dehydrated -- and completed more sprints than players who drank no fluids during play.

These findings show that drinking regularly during sports is a very good thing, study author Dr. Isabela Guerra of the University of Sao Paulo stated.

"In a hot climate, we should think first about hydration because dehydration can put your life in danger. So we should always stay hydrated -- if we do it with water, it's okay," she said.

But sports drinks may have an advantage over water, she added, since they contain energy, which may help during exercise.

Previous research has shown that soccer players who do not drink enough fluids during exercise may experience a spike in body temperature and heart rate. Moreover, drinking fluids helps maintain body mass during play, and losing as little as 2 percent of body mass can impair performance and mental functioning.

To investigate whether drinking a sports drink helps soccer players, Guerra and her team had 20 soccer players drink 300 milliliters of a 6 percent carbohydrate-electrolyte drink every 15 minutes, or no fluids at all during play. Everyone was allowed to drink water during a 15-minute break.

The players who drank a carbohydrate drink ran more sprints in the first half of play and lost only 2-1/2 pounds of body weight, relative to a loss of almost 4 pounds in non-drinkers, Guerra and her team report in the Journal of Sports Science and Medicine.

Heart rate and core body temperature were not significantly different between the two groups.

Guerra noted that it's not safe to "trust thirst" to let you know when you need to drink during heavy exercise. Rather, she recommended that soccer players and other athletes try to drink "at constant intervals," perhaps 150-300 milliliters every 15 to 20 minutes.

She added that the research was not funded by any companies that make sports drinks.

SOURCE: Journal of Sports Science and Medicine, December 2004.