With all the tips on how to lead a healthy lifestyle, staying hydrated is one of the basics that repeats itself over and over again. But you might be wondering what this fuss is about.
If everything else is fine, how important is hydration? In a word: a lot.
From a structural or functional point of view, water is a detergent and cleaning agent for our bodies. All cells in the body need water to function properly, and it is vital to help our bodies work through the toxins that we all breathe and eat every day.
Here we tell you how dehydration affects the body and tips on how to maintain your fluid intake.
5 effects of dehydration on the body
Your brain
When your body becomes dehydrated, the cells send a signal to your brain, telling it that you are thirsty. But dehydration also affects your brain in more surprising ways.
Although the mechanism is not fully understood, dehydration is related to a decrease in mood and cognitive performance. A June 2013 review in the Journal of the American College of Nutrition revealed that a dehydration level of just 2% was enough to affect performance on tasks that required attention, psychomotor skills, and immediate memory.
And while it was small, a February 2012 study published in the Journal of Nutrition found that even mild dehydration was enough to cause mood disorders.
Dehydration can also cause problems in the brain when electrolyte levels drop too low. Electrolytes are minerals like potassium and sodium that help electrical signals pass between cells. If you have too many electrolytes, you may experience a breakdown or disruption in these signals, which can cause involuntary muscle spasms and even seizures.
Your kidneys and urinary system
When you are dehydrated, your cells send a signal to your hypothalamus, which releases a hormone called vasopressin, known as antidiuretic hormone (ADH). This hormone tells the kidneys to remove less water from the blood, leading to less urination and darker, more concentrated urine.
The kidneys are the main filter for blood and, without adequate fluid, cannot flush out naturally degrading products and toxins from the bloodstream. Surprisingly, your kidneys are capable of moving up to 208 liters of fluid a day.
If you are constantly dehydrated for long periods of time, your kidneys have to work very hard. This can cause something called acute kidney injury, a form of damage that puts you at increased risk for kidney disease.
In fact, a lack of fluid intake can be a major factor in kidney stone formation.
Your blood
Your body needs fluid to make blood, so when your fluid levels drop, so does your blood volume.
The bloodstream needs adequate fluid within the body to maintain adequate blood pressure. Dehydration can cause hypotension or low blood pressure, which can cause fainting.
At an extreme level, this can lead to an emergency condition called hypovolemic shock , where low blood volume leads to a large drop in blood pressure and the amount of oxygen in the blood. The heart cannot pump enough blood around the body, which can lead to organ failure.
As your blood thickens, your body increases its heart and respiratory rates to compensate, essentially putting the body in a state of stress. It is not unusual to experience things like headache, fatigue, eyestrain, decreased sexual desire, and decreased sleep quality, because the brain is in a fight or flight state.
Your digestive system
The intestine needs adequate hydration to function properly. Water is needed for optimal motility (the movement of waste through the digestive system) and intestinal health.
Without regular fluid intake, bowel movements can be difficult and difficult to pass. Dehydration can also damage the lining of the microbiome's mucosa, which are important for both your digestion and your overall health.
Your skin
Although you may not realize it, your skin is actually the largest organ of your immune system. Healthy skin acts as a natural barrier against germs in our environment, but insufficient fluid intake can cause cracks on the lips and dry skin, where pathogens can enter.
Good hydration is essential for healthy skin. Although it is a small sample size, an August 2015 study in Clinical Cosmetics and Research Dermatology found a positive correlation between measures of skin health and hydration.
So how much water do you need?
A typical adult woman needs 11.5 cups of water a day, while a man needs 15.5 cups. A normal person takes about 20 percent of their water needs through food, which means that women should drink about 9 cups a day and men should drink 12.5.
6 key tips to avoid dehydration
Do not wait to be thirsty
We all have different levels of thirst instinct, which can mean you drink less than you need to. Instead of relying on thirst, schedule times throughout the day to drink a large glass of water.
Remember: if you are thirsty, you are already dehydrated.
Check your urine
Take cues from your bathroom breaks c Experts recommend that we all should drink enough to urinate every three to four hours. Urine should be light yellow in color. If you don't urinate at all or your urine is dark in color, you may not be drinking enough.
Have other drinks
Any liquid counts for your overall fluid intake, so if you don't like water, mix it up. Add lemon and cucumber slices to the water to make it more interesting, or make a cup of tea. Herbal tea is a good replacement for plain water, but we caution you that it is important to check for interactions if you are taking medications or have a chronic medical condition.
Beware of caffeine and alcohol
Although that cup of coffee or cocktail technically counts towards your daily hydration quota, caffeine and alcohol are diuretics, which means they can cause you to lose water. So make sure to balance your alcoholic beverages with at least the same amount of H2O.
"Eat" your water
It's not just about water. Much of the effective hydration we get is actually through our food. So things like cucumber, celery, are powerful ways of bringing water to the body more effectively than a glass of water.
Consuming water-rich fruits and vegetables is a good way to increase your hydration levels while increasing your intake of vitamins, minerals, and fiber.
Paleo or Keto? Add more H2O
High protein diets can be dehydrating, so hydrating regularly is especially important if you follow a paleo or ketogenic plan.
If you follow a diet rich in protein, you really need to work to increase the amount of vegetables that contain water in your diet to compensate for the possible dehydrating effect of the protein.
