Water, it’s one of the most important things for us to function and survive in this world.
Dehydration is a problem that most people live with and accept as a normal thing. Work all day, sleep in an air-conditioned room at home and drink a few beers, then the chances are you will be dehydrated to a certain point.
So here’s some science to think about
Our body typically contains 50-70% of water by mass and three quarters of this water is held within the body’s various cells.
All body fluid is mostly water, plus heaps of dissolved ions of minerals AKA electrolytes (NA+ Ca2+ Mg 2+ K+). The different charges and concentrations of the electrolytes charge the fluid and cells differently. This is the body’s electrical system which allows the muscles to move, think and do stuff.
- Regulates body temp, sweat & urine.
- Transports nutrients & blood cells through the body.
- Keeps food moving through your gastro intestinal tract (GIT).
- Flushes left over waste products from the body.
Mild dehydration by definition is the body fluid running low by about 2%, it is an easy fix, just drink a couple of glasses of water. With mild dehydration you will feel a little cotton mouthed, flushed and super thirsty. So listen to your thirst, its important! This is the easy stage to rehydrate your body.
Moderate dehydration – pass or fail of the turgor test. Pinch the skin on the back of the hand and then let go. A quick return of the skin to normal – pass you are either hydrated or mildly dehydrated. Fail is a slow return to normal and points to you being dehydrated.
You will feel hot and confused, your head will be pounding, and your brain will be a little fuzzy and slow. This is because right now, your brain is slightly over heating and it’s mad at how stupid you are. Your body fluid is missing 5-10% of the needed water to function properly and your body is in trouble.
Missing more than 10% water body fluid and you have severe dehydration. Yes, you only need to lose a relatively small amount of water to get your body into trouble. You will start to experience these lovely symptoms.
Eyes will settle back into their sockets making it hard to focus. Your urine will be a dark colour and it will smell really scary, but there won’t be a lot as your body is trying to conserve water loss. Your muscles will cramp, partially because your brain doesn’t work as well, with the nervous system misfiring, this then leads to the body shaking uncontrollably and you will feel super tired (getting ready to slip into that deep coma).
Blood pressure will drop because your body cells will drain the circulatory system of water (water is sucked from your blood making it really thick and hard to pump through the body). There will be a loss of essential electrolytes via sweat and urine excretion trying to reduce your body temperature. Due to the reduction of electrolytes your cells cannot generate enough voltage needed to articulate muscles, mainly the heart (plus your blood is fairly thick by now).
If this wasn’t enough, the low sodium electrolyte will cause the brain to swell thereby reducing its function, allowing your heart to skip and reducing your breathing ability. If this is happening your other major body organs are probably going to pack it in soon.
If you are severely dehydrated, then it’s past the drink some water and all will be well stage, you are at risk of dying. Right now you need an ambulance and probably a hospital so an IV drip can slowly replace your much needed fluid and electrolytes and also you need a fair chunk of luck that your internal organs are not damaged too much from overheating and toxic shock.
So stay hydrated. It’s not that hard. All you need to do is drink enough water, consistently throughout your day. It’s fairly easy to achieve for the awesome results it gives your life.
So go on have a drink of good old H20 and keep training smarter.