The idea of drinking eight glasses of water a day has become trite to a point where some of us are starting to question if it’s it really necessary to drink that much. Sure, it will make your pee crystal clear, it’ll help your body flush out toxins, it’ll make your skin look healthier, and some studies have even discovered that it can help encourage weight-loss. In an ideal world, we’d all be drinking that much water. More often than not, however, we don’t.
It’s important to consume enough water throughout the day in order to keep yourself functioning optimally. While mild dehydration isn’t life-threatening, it can leave you feeling physically and mentally fatigued. Staring at the computer all day long is draining enough as it is, but a slower mental capacity means reduced productivity, which in turn, could mean longer hours in the office—and no one wants that. Here’s how dehydration is slowing you down.
Headaches
Dehydration causes the brain to shrink, resulting in a dull headache or a full-blown migraine. Taking an Advil and chugging down a glass of water will definitely help, but it will take some time before a headache subsides. Until then, you’ll be struggling to get your work done.
Cravings
Getting hit by a sudden craving for sweets isn’t just bad for your diet, it can interrupt your workflow, too. What’s more distracting than the internal conflict that persists when trying to resist the urge to grab some dessert from the pantry? Drinking water regularly throughout the day will not only help you feel satiated, it might also help keep your cravings at bay.
Anxiety
The body doesn’t function normally when it is dehydrated. And because the body is under stress, that, in turn, may induce anxiety, and being anxious can make it difficult to focus on the tasks you need to do. (Note: dehydration alone doesn’t cause anxiety, but it can contribute to it.)
Concentration
When the body doesn’t have enough water, blood circulation starts to slow down. And when blood isn’t pumping enough oxygen and nutrients to the brain, you may experience something called ‘brain fog’ or mental fatigue. Focusing, concentrating, and other mentally-taxing tasks become more difficult to do.
Drinking water is easy yet many of us don’t drink enough of it. Rather than dealing with the symptoms mentioned above, find ways to hydrate regularly throughout the day. Here are some tips to get you started.
Images courtesy of Unsplash.
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Writer: JESSICA ALBERTO
