One of the most common recommendations of healthy lifestyle advocates is to drink more water. But they are not always able to explain what, in fact, is the meaning of this call, why you need to drink water, to whom and how much.
For several years now I have been interested in this issue, and therefore I read a lot of literature about it and, of course, began to drink more water.
However, it seems to me that now I drink more than two liters of water a day, not only because of the recommendations of authoritative experts, but also because I felt the difference.
Comparing the attitude towards water in Moscow with what I now meet all over the world, I see a significant difference. Here is just one example: in Russia, my pregnant girlfriends (without any kidney problems or other complications) were forbidden to drink more than a certain amount of liquid per day, and in the evening they had to choose between a bowl of soup and a glass of tea. During pregnancy in America and now in Singapore, doctors practically force me to drink water every hour, saying that the more water I drink, the less swelling in my body will be.
I have never heard from Russian doctors, teachers or parents that I need to drink more. And in cafes and restaurants, will they meet you with a glass of water, realizing that any person needs it, since he is going to spend more than an hour in this place? No, water must be ordered separately.
Relatively recently, this trend began to change, but many still believe that the more water you drink, the more swelling on your face you will get.
After I got used to drinking more than two liters of drinking water during the day, I noticed the following changes (which are confirmed by the words of experts):
– headache can go away from a glass of water;
– the feeling of hunger can disappear from a glass of water; at least after drinking a glass of water before eating, then I will eat less;
– irritation goes away and bad mood improves if you drink enough water;
– thanks to water you think better and make more balanced decisions;
– lips and hands dry less, and I use hand cream and lip balm less often than before;
– a flight in an airplane is more comfortable if you constantly drink water;
– Doing sports – whatever – is much easier if you drink a little water every 15–20 minutes.
Many, especially my mother’s generation, complain that it is difficult for them to drink water. If with all this “complexity” you want to try to follow the recommendations and drink a glass of water per hour, try experimenting with the temperature of the water or with flavors: lemon or lime juice, slices of fresh cucumber, fresh basil.
I hope that serious dehydration does not threaten any of you, but for general development I suggest reading about the consequences with which it is dangerous.
“Fluid intake is directly related to overall body function, but most people do not drink enough water,” says Stavros A. Kavuras, physician, fluid balance researcher, assistant professor and coordinator of the sports science program at the University of Arkansas.
“Mild” daily dehydration (fluid loss of 1 to 2% by weight) usually does not cause serious immediate problems: you just need to drink enough cool water or snack on a food with a high liquid content, such as watermelon or cucumber, to recover after the harm done.
Serious consequences occur after loss of fluid in the amount of 5% of body weight. The kidneys refuse to work with a loss of 11% of the fluid, and death can occur with the loss of 15 to 20% of the fluid. So what actually happens in your body during dehydration?
Dehydration makes it difficult for the body to control body temperature
Any small movement that you make contributes to the production of heat in the body, but at the same time, the basic pace of work remains practically stable. To stay productive, your body releases excess heat using tools such as sweating: when sweat evaporates from the surface of your skin, some of the heat is released along with it.
But when you are dehydrated, there is not enough internal fluid for normal perspiration, and the cooling mechanism begins to work intermittently. The heat remains trapped in the body and the temperature continues to rise.
If you are in a hot place, there is a danger of heatstroke, which in some cases can be fatal. Fortunately, heatstroke itself is quite rare, especially if you quit your job at the first sign of deterioration.
Sweating may stop
When the body does not have enough fluid in order to simultaneously provide the mechanisms of perspiration and pumping blood to the muscles, it begins to selectively turn off some processes. If your face takes on an unsympathetic shade of gray, your body may be telling it to direct fluid elsewhere and closing off the blood vessels in your face. This is an extreme degree of dehydration that can be prevented by detecting early signs in time. A person who goes about their daily activities will not stop sweating from mild dehydration.
Your heart has to work overtime
About 60% of the human body is water, and one of the largest “reservoirs” is our blood. When dehydration occurs, the blood volume decreases, but the heart must pump the same volume in order to cool the body and transfer nutrients to the working muscles. The decrease in available volume makes the heart work harder. When your heart fails this task, you may be at risk of heatstroke, in the worst case, even a heart attack.
To maintain a stable blood pressure as your blood volume decreases, your blood vessels constrict. For this reason, some people experience headaches caused by dehydration.
Physically, you can do much less.
If you feel that tasks that were previously within your power require extraordinary efforts, perhaps your body is trying to tell you: it’s time to stop, I am unable to continue working.
You lose concentration
Forgetfulness, confusion, inability to think consistently, tearfulness – and then you suddenly realize that you are thirsty? Our brains don’t like being fluid deficient, although researchers aren’t entirely sure why exactly this can lead to outbursts of rage, says Lawrence E. Armstrong, M.D., professor and head of the Department of Kinesiology at the University of Connecticut. One (alarming) theory is that specific areas of the brain physically shrink when fluid is scarce.
Armstrong’s research showed that these symptoms of dehydration can appear almost immediately – and that they affect men and women differently. In one study, women noticed that their mood worsened, tasks became more difficult, had headaches, and became more difficult to concentrate after losing as little as 1,36% of their body weight while walking on a treadmill. Men noted feelings of tension, anxiety and fatigue, memory impairment after losing 1,59% of body weight.
The color of the urine will turn dark
If you can go to the bathroom at all: Severe fluid loss can make this procedure impossible. If you see that the urine has acquired a dark yellow color, then it is worth worrying, and if the color is brown or reddish, you should immediately see a doctor. All of this indicates that the body is desperately battling dehydration. In addition, you should pay attention to the frequency of urination: if you visit the toilet less than 5-6 times a day, this means that you are drinking little water.
You are losing salt – and need to be replenished
If, after training, a plaque of small salt crystals appears on your face, you can personally see that during exercise, along with sweat, the body loses salt. This is why sports drinks contain electrolytes.
You will be thirsty
And it’s impossible not to feel it. But this is actually far from the first symptom of dehydration, says Kavuras. Water was not always readily available to our hunter-gatherer ancestors, so we are programmed to survive without it for a significant period of time; thirst appears when the body begins to give us active signals about a lack of fluid.
How much water should we really drink?
Unfortunately, there is no universal recommendation for this. According to the Institute of Medicine (USA), men need about 3,7 liters per day and women about 2,7 liters, but these figures include fluid from food, which accounts for about 20% of our daily water intake. … As Kavuras notes, the optimal amount of water per day “depends on the circumstances” – from the weather, how active you are, to your weight and height.
Since most of us forget to drink water when it is not in sight, keep a bottle close to us in the office. Increasing your water intake is a very inexpensive way to improve your health. At least this is another great excuse to get out of the chair once again.