 Sodium in drinks might help to avoid hyponatraemia (low sodium), but only after sustaining athletic activity for more than four hours; a sports drink containing sodium may be appropriate for recovery from intense and prolonged training or competition.A stated purpose of sports drinks, which provide many calories of energy from sugars, is to improve performance and endurance.In an analysis by Matthew Thompson and colleagues from the Oxford Centre for Evidence Based Medicine, of 431 marketing claims of performance enhancement, most cited no evidence.