Fiona McMahon, DPT
The dog days of summer are here, folks! Walking from the subway to your apartment feels akin to walking on the surface of the sun and it’s nearly impossible to avoid sweating through the back of your shirt on your way to work. It’s time to think about your water intake.
At Beyond Basics, you can often hear our therapists ask this question over and over, “are you drinking enough water?†But how much is enough? Can you over do it? And lastly, why is it important for me to be drinking so much water?
Benefits of Hydration
- Body Temperature Regulation: The body needs water to produce sweat to cool your body, without enough water the body cannot cool itself, which can be dangerous especially in hot weather. This is especially important in children and older adults
- Physical Performance: Decreases in athletic performance have been seen with as little as 2% body mass water loss. Ensuring you are hydrated ensures a better workout.
- Brain Power: Even mild dehydration can put you in a bad mood, as well as affecting memory and alertness
- Bowel Function: Not consuming enough water can slow down the movement of stool and lead to painful constipation
- Heart and Blood Pressure: Dehydration decreases the volume of blood in the body. With decreased blood, the heart has to work harder to circulate the smaller volume throughout the body, resulting in increased strain on the heart. This is of particular concern in those with heart conditions.
- Bladder: Drinking enough water can reduce risk of urinary tract infection by keeping bacteria in low concentrations in the urinary tract. It can also reduce general bladder discomfort by reducing the amount of bladder irritants present in the urinary tract.
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