The Importance of Hydration
According to recent scientific studies sufficient hydration has proven to be vital for optimal brain function in a number of ways. First of all, it improves mental function as evidenced by performance on cognitive exams of short term recall and vigilance. How much water we drink effects how well our brains perform a number of important tasks.
One may wonder what amount of water loss it will take to affect performance. Dehydration can constitute a slight lack of fluids, in fact as much as 1% body water loss, can cut brainpower in recent studies that measured attentiveness, critical thinking, and recollection. Don’t wait until you’re thirsty, ensure adequate hydration throughout the day.
What’s funny is that drinking enough water can positively affect even your temperament! It does that by regulating the balance of hormonal and neurotransmitter systems as observed by brain imaging data. These measurements have shown how important water is in keeping the body’s various systems in balance. A well hydrated brain will function optimally meaning you won’t be cranky and a pain to be around!
It gets even better than that. Drinking water can help to keep you young. It can facilitate postponing the ageing process and prevent cognitive decline as part of a healthy dietary lifestyle.
Many jobs depend on mental acuity and that acuity, depends on optimal brain functioning. In a study of aviators the dehydrated group showed a statistically significant reduction in flying performance as well as poorer scores on tests of visual and perceptual capabilities that are crucial to aircraft safety. Hydration should be a key issue for any workplace.
Thirst even affects the body’s ability to sense pain. The brain activity related to pain from immersing the hand into an ice water container measured using magnetic resonance imaging was greater in dehydrated subjects while the healthy adult men that were rehydrated showed less discomfort associated responses following exercise. Drinking water can help with many different health issues.
Lack of water makes your brain overworked. In a group of a fit adolescents, fMRI scans showed that after training subjects who sweated out more water weight displayed a rise in ventricle volume and more brain activity during a mental task indicating inefficient use of meager energy stores. Insufficient amounts of water make the body work even harder than usual.
Overall inadequate hydration can negatively affect your performance in a number of ways. Based on answers to symptom surveys and a series of computerized tests dehydrated men had unfavorable variations in alertness, working memory, were more uneasy, and tired. These results are similar to those seen in other studies using similar metrics. No matter what your age or occupation your health will certainly benefit from keeping satisfactory hydration.
