The essential guide to outdoor drinking

Drinking in the summer sun seems to go hand in hand with our favourite summertime activities of barbeques, music festivals and watching the cricket.

Longer days and warmer nights mean that alfresco drinking can become a regular occurrence, but unfortunately the result of excessive outdoor drinking can be all too British. Sunburnt backs, parched mouths and sore heads are usually the result of a beer-fuelled afternoon of cricket.

Luckily, there are ways to avoid this. Following our simple advice means summer 2009 can be a memorable one, rather than a messy one.

Al fresco alcohol advice

Just because you’re at a festival doesn’t mean you should have cider for breakfast. Although the hot weather can act as a temptation to make you want to start drinking earlier, laying off the alcohol until the evening is a good idea. Try sticking to the soft drinks until just before your favourite headliner hits the stage to avoid drinking alcohol throughout the day.’

Making room for food is also very important, although you might not feel like eating in the heat, eating will help slow down the effects of any alcohol you drink and is a good excuse to try the food on offer at the festival. Water works Long, ice filled alcoholic drinks may look like the perfect summertime refreshment, but they actually work to increase your thirst. "Alcohol is well-known to be a diuretic," says Moira L Plant, professor of alcohol studies at the University of the West of England.

"It makes the kidneys excrete more water in the urine, which in turn makes you more dehydrated because you pee more fluid than you drink." Mixing alcohol with the hot sun can have some serious consequences, ranging from drink-fuelled dehydration, which can leave you feeling woozy, sick and ready to pass out, to more serious conditions such as organ failure or even a heart attack. "There's a condition that's called 'holiday heart'," advises Oliver James, head of clinical medical sciences at Newcastle University.

"It's when people out drinking while sunbathing get dehydrated and develop irregularities in their heart beat." You can help minimise the risk of dehydration by drinking plenty of refreshing soft drinks and water. If you’re drinking alcohol, alternating between alcohol and glasses of H20 will help reduce dehydration. In the middle of the day, when temperatures hit their peak, it is best to cut out alcohol completely.

Be sun-savvy

Studies show that bad cases of sunburn can be linked to heavy drinking, reapplying at least factor 15 regularly when you’re outside can help prevent sunburn. Also keep an eye on friends who look as though they are turning red as well, especially those who tend to fall asleep in the garden and may wake up looking barbequed. "We've seen a huge increase in skin cancer, particularly among young women," says Moira.

"Strong summer sun can be particularly damaging, but while people take sun cream with them when going to the beach, it's not something they always think about when sitting outside at a festival." Pace yourself According to scientists, drinking alcohol disrupts the brain's ability to coordinate between ‘sensory input’ and ‘motor output’.

In short - too much booze interferes with your co-ordination, and can make you a slurring, staggering mess. Not a great place to be when you need to negotiate the way to your tent. Sadly, being under the influence of alcohol could put you in danger too - statistics show that eight out of 10 pedestrians killed on Friday and Saturday nights have been drinking. Consider this on your way back home once the bands have finished. The best way to minimise negative effects of alcohol is to pace yourself and drink safe amounts.

Try sticking to the soft drinks until later your favourite headliner hits the stage to avoid drinking alcohol throughout the day. Finally, don’t let the buzz of the festival make you forget the government’s alcohol guidelines. Men are recommended to stick to three to four units of alcohol (that's no more than four single vodkas or two pints of ordinary strength beer) per day, while for women it's two to three units (not more than one 175ml glass of wine or three single vodkas).