Humans are made up of approximately 60% water. It is required for the efficient functioning of every organ, cell, and tissue in our bodies. It helps with regular bowel function, muscle performance, and clear, youthful-looking skin. What happens when we don’t drink enough water? When our bodies are dehydrated, there are consequences; some are visible and only moderately bothersome, while others can be potentially lethal. Here’s how poor water consumption affects your daily life.
1. Constant Headaches
Athletes are more prone to headaches caused by dehydration. Excessive sweating caused by intense exertion promotes dehydration. This causes your blood to thicken, making it more difficult to transport oxygen. This implies that your brain will not get enough oxygen, which can cause a headache.
2. Dry and Dull Skin
Water is essential for our skin’s health and appearance. Inadequate drinking can accelerate the aging process. Collagen can split due to a lack of water, resulting in fine lines and wrinkles. Dehydration manifests itself on your face as dry, ashy skin that appears less luminous, plump, and elastic. That is why, in addition to drinking plenty of water, people require moisturizing and hydrating products in their skin-care regimen to achieve a supple, smooth appearance.
3. Fatigue
You may feel fatigued if you do not drink enough water. This is due, at least in part, to variations in blood volume caused by water scarcity. If you’re feeling tired, a glass of water may be a better first step than a caffeinated beverage, which may dehydrate you even more.
4. Reduce Mental Capacity
Many studies suggest that dehydration has negative consequences on our mental function, including decreased cognitive performance. Your brain requires water (it is around 80% water) and drinking enough keeps you mentally sharp over time. Dehydration impairs our ability to develop concrete memories as well. This makes it more difficult for us to do many of our daily duties, particularly those that need more mental reasoning and logic.
5. Weight Gain
If you consume less water, your gut health will undoubtedly suffer. Your body will not produce enough digestive juices, your metabolism will slow, and you will gain weight. Dehydration can also cause constipation and irritable bowel movements, both of which are linked to weight gain. It also impairs the body’s capacity to access glucose storage for energy and can cause cravings for sugary and carbohydrate-rich foods.
6. Poor Bowel Function
Water aids digestion and regular bowel movements by keeping your stool soft and passing it smoothly through the digestive tract. Not drinking enough water might make your body to extract fluid from your stool to balance for water loss, resulting in harder and firmer stool which is more difficult to pass. If your bowel movements are inconsistent and infrequent, consider drinking more water to relax your stools and ease constipation and bloating.
7. Bad Breath and Dry Mouth
Water is necessary for saliva production and aids in the removal of microorganisms, allowing you to maintain healthy teeth and gums. Water deficiency reduces saliva production and causes bacteria to accumulate on the tongue, teeth, and gums, contributing to bad breath. If you maintain good dental hygiene but still have persistent foul breath, it’s probable that you’re not drinking enough water.
8. Poor Kidney Function
Water is required to dilute the blood in order for your kidneys to function correctly. Without adequate water, your kidneys will work extra hard to filter the blood. Severe dehydration might potentially result in kidney stones or failure.
9. Increased Risk of Stroke
Dehydration not only makes it more difficult to recover from a stroke, but it can also make it worse. When you don’t drink enough fluids, your blood can thicken and travel slowly, perhaps leading to a stroke in a blocked or restricted blood artery. Dehydration can be more dangerous if you have additional risk factors for heart disease, such as clogged arteries.
10. Getting Cranky
As you can see, dehydration causes a whole slew of unpleasant feelings that might culminate in irritability. Nobody enjoys feeling sluggish, with a dry mouth and frequent brain fog. In fact, there is research that suggests that dehydration causes mood swings and annoyance. Because the body requires water to manufacture hormones and other neurotransmitters, it stands to reason that dehydration promotes mood swings.
11. Muscle Cramps
To do what we ask of them, our muscles require a lot of water and electrolytes. Our muscles can become exceedingly sensitive and spasm or contract involuntarily if we don’t drink enough fluid. Water is required to flush our bodies with cellular waste. Toxin buildup can cause inflammation, which frequently leads to pain. Water, which lubricates our joints, can also help prevent joint pain and stiffness.
12. Frequently Falling Sick
Water flushes toxins, waste, and bacteria from the body, aiding in the battle against disease and infection, as well as strengthening your immune system, allowing you to be sick less frequently. If you appear to be sick all the time, you may need to start drinking more water to maintain your body free of toxins and perform at its best. Because a lack of water produces exhaustion, you may be less physically active, which is another risk factor for decreased immunity.