Dehydration and Its Effects
What do healthy people do to hydrate themselves? They drink water before they are thirsty!
Many people do not think about drinking water until they are already thirsty, but by then the body may be in the first stages of mild dehydration. Mild dehydration can be defined as a loss of 1.5 percent of the normal water volume in the body.
Everyone knows how life-threatening severe dehydration can be. What is not as well known is that even mild dehydration can seriously affect an individual's energy level, mood and ability to think clearly.
Two recent studies conducted at the University of Connecticut's Human Performance Laboratory confirmed these effects. The tests also showed that the adverse effects from the mild dehydration were the same whether the person was at rest or vigorously exercising.
Lawrence E. Armstrong, a professor of physiology at UConn's Department of Kinesiology in the Neag School of Education and one of the studies' lead scientists, claims the test results show the importance of staying hydrated all the time, not just during extreme heat, exertion or exercise.
Professor Armstrong also states the body's thirst sensation does not really kick in until a person is already between 1 and 2 percent dehydrated. Armstrong, who is an international expert in hydration and has been conducting research in this field for more than 20 years, has noted that it is just as important for the office person at his or her computer to remain hydrated as it is for the marathon runner. Marathon runners can lose as much as 8 percent of their body weight as water when they compete.
In some of the studies, separate groups of young men and women were tested. The participants were on average about 22 years old, active and healthy without being either sedentary or high-performance athletes. They typically exercised for 30 to 60 minutes per day. They were hydrated in the evening and the next day walked on a treadmill to induce dehydration.
The young women's mild dehydration brought on fatigue, headaches and difficulty concentrating. In the test with the young men, the mild dehydration caused some difficulty with mental tasks. They also suffered somewhat from fatigue, tension and anxiety. However, adverse changes in mood and other symptoms were "substantially greater" in females than in males.
The results showed even mild dehydration can degrade how a person is feeling, and especially so for women.
To stay properly hydrated, most experts on hydration recommend drinking eight, 8-ounce glasses of water per day, or about 2 liters of water. One easy way to check the status of personal dehydration is by the color of the urine produced. In properly-hydrated individuals, the urine will be a very pale yellow. Urine that is dark yellow or tan is indicative of greater dehydration.
Proper hydration is especially important for high-risk groups of people, such as children, diabetics and the elderly.
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