Photo: joeymanley
Looks good doesn’t it, a nice ice-cold glass of water, mouth watering condensation dripping down the side. If you’re thinking it looks really good and your mouth is starting to crave the cold, liquidy goodness, chances are you’re moderately dehydrated and in need of a drink right now. But you didn’t notice how thirsty you were ’til you saw that picture, right, and you had a drink about an hour or so ago that should have been enough.
So how much water do you really drink in the course of an average day? Most of us don’t know, and when asked we’ll reply “I drink when I’m thirsty”, or “I’ll drink when I socialise”, or “I’ll grab a drink when I have the time”. However, many of us don’t drink as much as we think and certain drinks don’t hydrate as well as others. For instance, most of us don’t realise that by the time we feel thirsty we’re already partially dehydrated and that can lead to headaches, the inability to concentrate or think, general fuzzy-headedness and bad moods.
Our bodies are made up of 70% water, we need it to allow our bodies to function, it’s the equivalent of running your car well oiled, if the engine runs dry of oil the car seizes up, won’t run and major often irreparable damage is done. Unlike cars, however, our bodies are not replaceable.
It is advisable to have water available to you at all times particularly during exercise or extremely hot weather. The current recommendations for liquid intake vary from country to country, but are around 6-10 cups a day are about right. These can be water, tea, coffee, fruit juice, milk and fizzy drinks. However, some sense is cautioned as fizzy drinks contain a lot of sugar or sweeteners and have other bad side affects, so if you must have a fizzy drink it’s suggested that you limit them to only one small cup a day. Caffeinated drinks such as tea and coffee should also be limited as caffeine does have a diuretic effect (ie, you end up urinating more), but both have been proved to have considerable health benefits, so try limiting them to 3-4 cups a day, and try slipping in the occasional caffeine free cup of tea or coffee.
Just to show how easy it is to become dehydrated; we lose approximately 2.5 litres of fluid a day and about half of that is through breathing and sweating. As we know the atmosphere in an air-conditioned office can be very dry and we can lose about 500-750ml of water an hour. The amount of fluid lost during exercise varies, so it is important to be well hydrated before, during and after exercise. And don’t forget during winter the atmosphere in a heated home or office can get very dry, so just as it’s important for the plants in homes and offices to get water, it’s just as important for us too.
A few studies have shown that women don’t show as much cognitive disruption as men when mildly dehydrated, but they do show significantly higher levels of fatigue and anxiety. Women who are breastfeeding should drink considerably more than the rest of us as dehydration in breastfeeding women is the leading cause of fatigue. Remember that during breast feeding you are losing liquid through milk production.
When you’re ill with diarrhea or flu, it is extremely important to ensure that you keep the body well hydrated as you will be losing more fluid than usual.
Keeping well hydrated has its bonuses, it keeps your hair and skin looking healthy and younger (who doesn’t want to stay young looking), it keeps our joints and muscles more supple and our brains functioning at their best. So drink up, go get that glass of ice cold water and enjoy!