The human body is around 60-70% water, and although it may seem unlikely, a mere 2% loss of that vital fluid can affect our health quite adversely.
Professor Lawrence E. Armstrong, Professor of Physiology in UConn’s Department of Kinesiology in the Neag School of Education and an international expert on hydration has conducted research in the field for more than 20 years.
Professor Armstrong states that, “Our thirst sensation doesn’t really appear until we are 1 % or 2 % dehydrated. By then dehydration is already setting in and starting to impact how our mind and body perform. Dehydration affects all people, and staying properly hydrated is just as important for those who work all day at a computer as it is for marathon runners, who can lose up to 8 % of their body weight as water when they compete.”
A study undertaken by the University of Connecticut and published in the British Journal of Nutrition found that “mild dehydration without hyperthermia in men induced adverse changes in vigilance and working memory, and increased tension/anxiety and fatigue.â€
Dehydration causes the balance of salts in the body and the blood to become unbalanced, and also starves the muscles of water; this causes muscle fatigue which means that the muscles are not able to work as well as before and to tire more easily.
Although we seldom think of it as such, the heart is just one big muscle, and when you do not drink water frequently it means that your body is also getting insufficient electrolytes, which it gets from water. This causes the blood to thicken which means that your heart must work harder to pump the blood throughout your body so that it reaches all your cells and organs. This results in fatigue and could also cause further heart problems.
If you are constantly feeling tired or fatigued for no known reason, it could be because you are dehydrated. In order to maintain your energy levels, you must drink water regularly in order to maintain hydration levels, keep your blood at the correct viscosity and distributing energy-fuelling nutrients throughout your body.
If you do not drink sufficient water because you do not like the taste of tap water, you might try investing in a water cooler that will supply you with chilled, filtered drinking water virtually non-stop.
Buy water coolers and rent water cooler from Living-Water.
