The Importance of Hydration

Article | Bethany Cooper, Health Sciences/Medical Writer and Emergency Nurse

It’s widely known that health experts recommend drinking eight 8-ounce glasses of water every day, which equates to about 2 litres. According to guidance from the Institute of Medicine, the recommendation for actual fluid intake is 3 litres for men and 2.2 litres for women.

Now, if you’re the sort of person who regularly drinks eight glasses of water a day, well done to you. As a nurse working in a busy A&E department, I would often go home after a long 13-hour shift and realise I hadn’t drunk enough water throughout the day, and my kidneys would ache as a physical reminder of this. Research suggests that I’m not the only one, as many of us fall short of the recommended eight cups a day.

We’ve all seen the recent memes: how can we possibly be expected to juggle a career, have a social life, study, have a hobby, keep up with household chores, eat five portions of fruit and veg a day, exercise, practise self-care and drink eight glasses of water a day while navigating a global pandemic?

It’s so easy to reach for a hot cup of coffee when we’re overstretched and running low on steam, but today I want to shine a light on the advantages of prioritising water throughout the day – because the benefits to our body are more important than we may think.

How much of the human body is made up of water varies by age and gender; it can also be affected by body size and shape, and the balance of muscle and fat.

We can maintain this balance of water by drinking fluids throughout the day. But why is this so important? Well, ensuring adequate hydration has numerous benefits for the human body, not only physically but also mentally.

Physical Benefits

Regulating the balance of water in the body is essential for maintaining health and life.

Because of its role in every function of the human body – it’s essential for every cell, tissue and organ to work effectively – water has long been considered the body’s most important nutrient.

This is a sweeping statement, so I’m going to break it down for you.

• Drinking water contains several electrolytes (including calcium, chloride, fluoride, magnesium, potassium and sodium), all of which play an important part in our bodily functions.

• The water we drink is absorbed by the intestines and then circulated around the body in the form of fluids, such as blood. When we drink, this process can happen in as few as 5 minutes.

• Water is vital for moving oxygen, nutrients and waste products into and out of the body’s cells. It is needed for all digestion and absorption functions.

• Water helps to regulate body temperature and serves as a cushioning component between joints, in the spinal cord and in the brain.

Drinking more water not only improves our internal bodily functions but also has a positive effect on our appearance. Although on a cellular level, water is not absorbed directly into the skin, there has long been an argument that increased water consumption helps to maintain your skin’s elasticity and complexion.

Research suggests that higher water input has a positive effect on skin physiology. [6] And there is a compelling argument that drinking water can improve the body’s ability to lose weight via two mechanisms: appetite suppression and increased metabolism.

Mental Benefits

Alongside the many physical benefits of drinking enough water every day, there are numerous mental benefits.

Multiple studies point to a link between dehydration and a higher risk of anxiety. In one 2018 study, researchers found that people who drank more water had a lower risk of anxiety and depression than those who drank less water. Likewise, researchers in a 2015 study found that drinking less water was associated with greater tension, depression and confusion.

When people begin to feel thirsty, they have already lost around 2–3% of the water in their body. That might not sound like much, but dehydration by just 2% significantly impairs performance in mental tasks and physical coordination. In a recent study, drinking a glass of water was found to positively enhance working memory.

Water is the medium for most chemical reactions in the body, especially those metabolic reactions involved in producing energy. So, when we reach for that cup of coffee to keep our mind in check during a stressful day, in reality a glass of water would prove significantly more beneficial for our mental capacity and cognitive function.

Other mental benefits from increased water consumption come from improvements in sleep quality.

Dehydration can disrupt our sleep in a number of ways, while drinking more water during the day can improve the quality of our sleep. In turn, a better quality of sleep has numerous benefits for our mental wellbeing.

Future Health

I’ve discussed how drinking enough water can significantly help to protect your current health, but it can also play a huge part in protecting your future health by flushing out toxins so your body is in the best possible shape to fight inflammation.

There is increasing evidence that a low water intake or mild dehydration may be linked with the risk of chronic diseases, including type 2 diabetes, obesity, coronary heart disease, hypertension, urinary tract infections, blood clots and stroke.

So, whatever your daily life looks like – whether you’re working from home, working in an office, looking after your children or working as a busy healthcare professional – you need to make time to hydrate throughout the day. Prioritise your water intake and prioritise your health.

Admittedly, while writing this article I’ve gone to fill up my water bottle more often than normal; my only hope is that you will do the same

Bethany Cooper

Health Sciences/Medical Writer and Emergency Nurse

Bethany completed a master’s degree in Trauma Science in 2019, research from which has recently been accepted for publication in a medical journal.

Over the past year Bethany has been working as a health sciences and medical writer. She is passionate about health, encouraging health literacy, and patient engagement.