The Power of Water
You might have heard that you need to drink 8 cups of water per day for optimal health. But most people don’t know exactly why water is so important. So this week we’re going to talk about one of the easiest ways to improve health and performance: water!
Water is so important for health. There is not a single cell in your body that doesn’t rely on water. Here are just some of the important roles water has in your body:
Water helps transport the oxygen, carbohydrates, vitamins, minerals, and other nutrients that your cells need to make energy. 80% of your blood’s volume is water, so hydration has a huge impact on how efficient your blood is at delivering nutrients to your body.
Water helps your heart beat properly and keeps your blood pressure within a healthy range. Water aids in digestion and absorption of nutrients, and helps with weight management. Water also helps boosts energy production in the body, prevents headaches, improves elimination of toxins, regulates body temperature, and supports the skin, bowels, and eyes.
But another thing that water does is that it’s so important for the brain. This is because 80% of brain is made up of water! Water is so important for concentration, problem solving, and memory, and even mild dehydration can impair these cognitive functions. So if you’re feeling sluggish in the afternoon, you could simply be dehydrated. Next time this happen, have a glass of water and see how you feel after.
Here are some simple tips you can do every day to increase your water consumption:
1. Hydrate first thing in the morning. As we sleep, we naturally lose water through breathing and usually wake up dehydrated, negatively impacting the day ahead. Make one easy adjustment to your morning routine and you’ll notice big changes. Place a big glass of water beside your bed each night, and do not get out of bed in the morning until you have finished that glass,
2. Add some lemon juice to your water. A lot of people aren’t properly hydrated because they find the taste of water boring. If this is you, try adding a squirt of lemon juice to your glass of water. Not only will it add some flavour to the drink, but it also promotes hydration, helps with digestion, and gives you a boost of antioxidants.
3. Keep a water bottle on your desk. Keeping a water bottle or glass on your desk is the easiest way to remind yourself to drink (remember the importance of selection cues for habit formation!). If you have your water bottle in sight, you will be cued to drink throughout the day. Once you’re done your water bottle or glass, take a break from your work to fill it up!
Happy drinking!
What are we finding in the research?
As you now know, hydration is necessary for the brain to function properly. Dehydration has been shown to cause cognitive impairment, and this is especially apparent in older adults.
In a study published last year, researchers used magnetic resonance imaging to look at the brains of healthy adults between the ages of 50 and 75 in a dehydrated state. The researchers observed that even mild dehydration was associated with decreased hippocampal volume in these participants. The hippocampus is the part of the brain responsible for learning and memory. This means that dehydration actually leads to structural changes in the brain! This could be one explanation for the cognitive impairments that occur during dehydration.
Click out this article to learn more about this.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6925571/
