Hydration

We all know that we “should” be drinking water. Most governments recommend eight glasses of water a day. The problem is sometimes our body gives us mixed or incorrect messages. Mistaking thirst for hunger is one of the most common. Therefore we often put food in our mouths when what our body really needs is water.

In our society, water is worth billions. I think the bottled water industry is simply crazy. A basic human right has turned into a massive money spinner. And this refers not only to the purchase of prepackaged water but also to refillable drink bottles. It's sad that something that should be free (or very low cost) has turned into a luxury item where we are judged by the vessel from which we drink.

I digress.

The human body is mainly water. Breaking this down by body part - the brain and heart are composed of 73% water, the lungs about 83% water, the skin contains 64% water, muscles and kidneys are 79%, and even the bones are watery at 31%. The primary mechanisms that keep your body moving (by that I mean literally - the brain, heart, muscles and bones) are, on average about 64% water.

So what does drinking water do? Apart from allowing your brain, heart, liver and kidneys to function optimally, water aids digestion and helps you absorb nutrients from the food you eat. It softens stools thereby reducing constipation and helping eliminate wastes and toxins from the body (both through urine and faeces). 

Okay, so we see how important hydration is. Let's look at the flip side. Dehydration is medically defined as when a person has lost enough fluid so that the body begins to lose normal functionality. Dehydration is initially signalled by the brain as a dry mouth and then thirst. Then comes headache, inattention and sleepiness. Sustained dehydration leads to dry skin and dark yellow or orange urine. Acute dehydration (the kind that usually results from vomiting, diarrhoea or conditions like diabetes) results in dizziness, low blood pressure, rapid heart rate, lethargy, fever and seizure or coma.

Acute dehydration can be severe and is a medical, life-threatening illness in babies, young children and the elderly. But chronic low-level dehydration is rarely recognised for what it is. People who routinely don't drink enough water have reduced thirst (that is, their body doesn't trigger a thirst response effectively - brains are smart in that if they keep sending a message that isn't received, they stop sending it to save energy). Apart from the first pee of the day, if your urine is not clear (and by clear I don't mean pale yellow, I mean “looks like water in the bowl") you're probably dehydrated. Chronic low-level dehydration presents as fatigue, lack of concentration, the inability to retain information, constipation or hard stools, loss of strength or stamina as well as an increased risk of kidney stones. Even chronic pain can occasionally be attributed to low or sustained levels of dehydration.

Furthermore, because we often misinterpret thirst as hunger, dehydration can also be a contributing factor to obesity.

Of greatest interest to me, however,  is the effect of dehydration on cognitive function.

"The brain comprises 2% of the body's total weight, yet receives 15-20% of the blood supply, mostly comprised of water. Dehydration will affect cognitive ability drastically, and, through histamine's action, can create depressive states”

Source: http://www.foodmatters.com/article/are-you-chronically-dehydrated

Like a plant without adequate water, your brain literally shrinks when you are dehydrated causing mild to severe headaches. Dehydration studies have shown that people have impaired reaction time and lower pain tolerance when dehydrated. So if you’re expecting to or wanting to be able to think clearly then staying hydrated is probably going to put you in a prime position to do so. 

While the recommendation is that you drink eight glasses of water a day, I would suggest that you instead start listening to your body. For example, the eight-glass-a-day rule is much less than I need to stay hydrated and I need ten to twelve at a minimum - that is, in winter when I am not exercising. In summer, if I spend time outside (say, gardening) I will need to drink an additional glass of water every half hour. If I go for a run, I will usually down a litre as soon as I get home. I usually drink about a litre extra on the days I go to the gym. If the air conditioning (or heater) is pumping in the office, I will try to add a litre over the course of the day to ensure my skin stays hydrated. The point here is that everybody is different and I suggest you start to pay attention to yours. 

Start by tracking your water consumption. By that, I mean actual water - not tea (with the exception of herbal tea), coffee, soft drinks or juices. Sure, we get some water from the aforementioned liquids and the foods we eat but I personally don't take that into consideration as it is usually utilised by the bowel for digestion anyway. For a couple of days, note down or keep track of your water consumption on your phone. There are plenty of free apps that will facilitate the recording of how much water you have consumed if that's your preferred tracking method. If not you can use a note function on your phone or jot it down old school in a notebook. You might be shocked (in either direction) to see how much or little you are drinking in a 24-hour period. 

Once you become aware of your own habits in terms of water consumption - do you drink more at home or at work? On a weekday or a weekend? When you're in the car? When you are eating out as opposed to eating at home? - you can start to modify your habits to support drinking more. For example, if you note that you drink more when you are dining out, then you could think about adding a jug of water to the dinner table at home. Or if you don't drink on the commute you could pack a drink bottle. If you don't drink much when you are at work then you could look at getting a jug on your desk, or filling up a glass of water whenever you get yourself a coffee. Or perhaps it would help if you downed a (or a couple of) glass(es) of water before each meal. What's important is that you find something that works for you.

Here's my typical water consumption for the day, by way of example.

I choose to start my day with a large glass of lemon water. I squeeze the juice of half a lemon, fill the glass with triple-filtered tap water and drink on waking. Lemon aids digestion, helps the liver to flush waste from the body, boosts the immune system and supports the adrenal system in alleviating stress. 

I then work out. If I am at the gym I drink about half a litre while I'm there. If I go for a walk, I down a couple of glasses as soon as I get home. 

I usually have peppermint tea with breakfast. 

During the day at work, I will usually have another peppermint tea around 0930. Before lunch, I drink a litre of water. In the afternoon, I have another litre of water. I might have a cup of peppermint tea around 1530.

At night I have water with dinner and usually drink another peppermint tea around eight at night so I don't have to pee overnight. I have one final glass of "night-night" water just before I go to sleep.

All up, on average I have at least three litres of water (if you include tea). 

To put that into context with my activity I usually walk about 2km before I get to work and I do weights at the gym for about an hour. Two to three times a week I do yoga and I attend a Zumba class on Saturdays which always results in another litre of water consumed. My morning (even most weekend days) starts by four am and I am usually in bed by nine thirty and asleep around ten.

Extrapolate as required to fit your lifestyle and level of activity. Or better still, listen to your body and pay attention to what it needs remembering that you have the perfect, convenient metric of urine colour to test the waters. Pun intended.