What Happens To Our Bodies When We Start To Get Dehydrated?

Plenty of us have heard that we need to keep hydrated if we stand a chance of staying healthy, but why? What happens to our bodies when we start to get dehydrated? It turns out there are plenty of reasons that we need to keep on top of our water intake, and it might make many of us reach for that bottle of water.

Being dehydrated happens when our bodies lose a huge amount of water all at once or when we haven’t had sufficient water in a while. Most of the time, it’s something we can fix with a glass of water or two. Other times, it can be enough to threaten our lives.

Why do we need water?

Our bodies are made up of so many different systems that mostly need one thing to thrive: water - but why? That’s because it helps to maintain a balance in the fluids within our body, a process called euvolemia. It also helps to keep moist tissues wet - such as though in our mouth, nose, and eyes - lubricates our joints, carries oxygen and nutrients to our cells, and even helps our bodies regulate a constant temperature. As if that wasn’t enough, our bodies also need water to help with digestion and to help our kidneys and liver to flush out any toxins from our bodies.

How does dehydration affect our brain?

Our brains are made up of around 75% water which is needed to produce neurotransmitters and hormones while also helping with our concentration and focus. When we get dehydrated, our brain starts to physically shrink, which can, in turn, affect our coordination and memory. If we become severely dehydrated, our memory and visual perception can also become affected, with our moods taking a significant hit. Some studies even state that being dehydrated by as much as 1% can be enough to decrease our cognitive function.

How does dehydration affect our mental health?

Having such a large effect on our brain might make it little surprise that being dehydrated can also affect our mental health. Mental-emotional symptoms can quickly crop up when we haven’t had enough water, with brain fog, the inability to focus, fatigue, and depression all acting as common symptoms. If you are dehydrated before you go to bed, you might also find that you have issues with your sleep, such as various types of insomnia.

What happens to our cardiovascular system when we’re dehydrated?

Our heart has to work all hours of the day to keep our blood pumping and, therefore, oxygen flowing through our bodies. In fact, the heart moves around 2,000 gallons of blood each day, with that decreasing when we’re dehydrated. This means that our heart has to work harder to get things moving, and can lead to raised blood pressure and an increased heart rate. When we get severely dehydrated, there’s a chance that our thirst can decrease and our blood pressure rapidly falls, which can lead to fainting or feeling lightheaded.

Does being dehydrated affect our digestive system?

Even though it’s food that we tend to think of when we picture our digestive system, water plays a huge part in it all, too. Without it, our bodies can’t absorb nutrients and cleanse our bodies effectively, with our small intestines in charge of absorbing around 90% of consumed water. From there, the large intestine is in charge of absorbing the rest. When we are severely dehydrated, our large intestine will absorb any liquid that it can in a bid to rehydrate the body, which can lead to several digestive issues further down the line.

What complications can we suffer as a result of dehydration?

They might be rare, but there can be some severe complications that come with being extremely dehydrated. These include things like heat stroke or heat injuries as our bodies fail to cool themselves down. Kidney issues, such as kidney failure or kidney stones, can also come as a result of not having enough water. If things get incredibly bad, there is also a chance we can suffer from low blood volume shock, which comes from not having enough blood to circulate around our bodies, or seizures from the lack of potassium and sodium circulating our bodies.

What happens to our bodies when we start to get dehydrated? A lot. In fact, with so many things that can go wrong from not having enough to drink, it could be time to grab a glass of water and keep hydrated.