Most people associate dehydration to yellow pee, feeling thirsty and dry mouth. That’s because those are the obvious signs, but did you know that there are other strange ways our bodies try to tell us that you’re in desperate need of fluid in your body?
Drinking water can be challenging, when you think you’re properly hydrating yourself, there are times that your efforts are not enough. This is especially true when you’re taking the same amount of fluid you usually taking but then your physical activities have increased and the temperature has been higher. In such cases, you’ll need more fluid to not just to avoid dehydration but to maintain all your body’s processes to function normally, avoid heat stroke or exhaustion and seizures in some cases.
So make sure you pay attention to your body more closely, because aside from the obvious signs, here are other red flags that especially targets your brain which means you’re already dehydrated.
It Reduces You Cognitive And Motor Skills
You lose water throughout the day-through your breath, sweat, urine, and bowel movements. If you live in a hot climate, you lose even more fluid. You need to replace this lost fluid to stay healthy. If you don't get enough water, you could become dehydrated. If you get very dehydrated, your body no longer has enough fluid to get blood to your organs. This then makes your body slow down when it comes to performing its normal functions like paying attention and thinking. When this happens, your physical body follows through in a way that you makes mistakes easily on manual tasks that you don’t normally even think about or your body doesn’t do what you command it to do quick enough. Take driving for example, when you’re dehydrated you drive almost like a drunk person would. Because it also reduces your concentration and reaction time as if you’re driving intoxicated.
It Affects Your Memory
Did you know that even the slightest drop on your body’s fluid level can trigger headaches? If the slightest dehydration can make your head hurt then it can also make you feel out of it. You’ll notice this especially when you’re working out on a hot day and you’ll suddenly feel like you blocked out for a second. Sometimes it may happen when you’re very busy or trying to do something but for some reason your brain won’t cooperate. Keeping properly hydrated is even more important for patients who undergo chiropractic treatments. Patients may experience a variety of mild side effects for the first 24 hours following an adjustment, ranging from headaches, to nausea, to dizziness. This is actually perfectly natural. When the body is put into proper alignment from a chiropractic adjustment, it releases all the tension it has been holding. At the same time, it will release various toxins that may have built up as a result of that tension and keeping hydrated following any chiropractic adjustment help make that happen faster.
It Makes You More Sensitive To Pain
It’s bad enough that dehydration causes headaches. But what makes it even worse is that if you’re already having a headache, the pain intensifies if you don’t maintain hydration. So don’t wait until you’re thirsty before drinking water. You should be drinking a glass of water at least every hour to do so. Keep your body hydrated with water not with other drinks since only water can replenish loss fluid in your body.
Just because alcohol, artificial juices, soda, or coffee is liquid doesn’t mean you’re hydrating your body properly. This means it can lead to dehydration and dry out your skin and affect the function of your vital organs which could also affect your energy level. What your body needs for adequate and proper hydration is water. Much better if you opt for alkaline water, because, aside from hydration it also provides other benefits for your body.
It Affects Your Mood
Since not drinking enough water can trigger a headache or make it hurt more than it usually do, it should come as no surprise that it can make you moody or feel fatigued. So if you noticed that you’re being irritable despite having a restful sleep and a reasonably good day, try drinking water and you’ll instantly feel better. But even better if you can maintain a daily intake of 2.7 liters to 3 liters of water each day to avoid mood fluctuations due to dehydration altogether. If you find that it’s difficult for you to drink that much water every day, don’t worry because there are fruits, vegetables and other foods that can contribute to your daily hydration.
Now imagine going to work every day with all these mental effects of dehydration? It’s challenging to stay healthy and productive in a workplace that makes you sit all day and do repetitive tasks. And then there’s the risk of becoming dehydrated because you either get too busy to get up from your desk to get yourself some water or there isn’t any nearby water dispensers in the office. But no matter how challenging it is, it’s definitely not impossible! Something as simple as providing more water dispensers around the office to encourage hydration not only ensures healthier employees but as well as efficient ones because a well-hydrated ones means they’re more focused on their tasks!