The Link Between Hydration and Cognitive Function: Fueling the Everyday Athlete

Hello Ziddis! Feeling parched when you work out seems like a very common thing, but is it healthy to experience it often? It is not healthy to experience a strong parched feeling. It is dehydration. While dehydration is only regarded as a concern for people who indulge in tenses sports like marathon runners and athletes, anyone who has started working out recently can experience it, especially if you juggle a full-time job, commute, errands and workout. Dehydration doesn’t just affect your endurance but also gives you brain fog, makes you lose your focus and your motivation. Ever felt that ”brain fog” mid-day or struggled to concentrate during a crucial meeting? Dehydration is the culprit. In this blog, we try to connect the dots between dehydration and cognitive functions.

Hydration and Cognitive Function

Fun fact: Our brain is composed of about 75% water. That makes our brain highly sensitive to even a minor fluid deficiency. While your brain is super efficient, it needs water to function. When you are well-hydrated, your nutrients are delivered efficiently, and electrical signalling between neurons is smooth and rapid. Water is really like a lubricant and food for your brain’s complex structure. If you experience dehydration, your cognitive function starts to lose its edge, causing it to crash and glitch mid-day, mid-exercise or even at the start of the day after an intense yesterday

Effects of Dehydration on the Brain

Our brain can’t handle even mild levels of dehydration. Even if as little as 1.5% of the body’s fluid weight is lost, it can cause alterations in brain functionality. Research shows that this level of fluid loss can cause an increase in cortisol, a stress hormone that can cause anxiety and fatigue. During a study, MRI scans of dehydrated brains showed that those experiencing dehydration took a longer time to complete a simple task as compared to those with healthy hydration levels. 

Here’s how dehydration affects the brain:

• Causing brain tissues to shrink
• Increasing mental strain
• Reduced blood flow
• Imbalance in electrolyte levels
• Reducing the brain’s supply of oxygen and glucose
• Disrupting nerve signalling
• Slowing down the processing speed. 

If you are someone who takes creatine as one of your gym supplements, that routine requires you to prioritise hydration even more.

How Hydration Affects Focus and Reaction Time

If you are an athlete, you need to understand a simple equation, Mental activity is directly proportional to hydration levels.

You need healthy hydration levels to work out, keep up your endurance, stay focused and make decisions quicker. Here’s how dehydration can hamper your efforts:

• Your attention span will reduce
• You will be easily irritated or distracted
• You will experience difficulty in switching between tasks
• You will face difficulty organising and prioritising your thoughts
• Your reaction time will slow down.
• Your reflexes will lag

Cognitive Decline and Hydration

Chronic, regular dehydration can put a strain on your cardiovascular system and nervous system. By maintaining proper hydration levels, you will be at the top of your performance, be it sports, daily errands, corporate work, trading or even leisurely activities.

Effects of Dehydration on Physical Performance

Dehydration takes a toll on your physical performance, too. The moment you start sweating, you start losing fluids, and that impacts your physical capabilities. 

Here are some ways in which your physical performance degrades because of dehydration:

• Low endurance
• Less strength and power
• Often experiencing cramps and joint pain
• Slower recovery

Read Also: Winter Hydration: Why Skipping Water Could Hurt Your Workouts

Takeaway

Hydration is a non-negotiable for everyone, but more so if you are into fitness. An athlete needs both mental toughness and physical capability to perform well. Hydration is a simple way that ensure it.