Can Dehydration Affect Our Mood?

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DESCRIPTION: The brain shrinkage associated with dehydration may not only play a role in cognitive impairment, but also levels of energy, alertness, and happiness.

This is the third of a video series on water. See the first two at How Many Glasses of Water Should We Drink a Day? (http://nutritionfacts.org/video/how-many-glasses-of-water-should-we-drink-a-day/) and Does a Drink Of Water Make Children Smarter? (http://nutritionfacts.org/video/does-a-drink-of-water-make-children-smarter/) Stay tuned—I’ve got more on the way.

Other healthy beverages include hibiscus tea (Hibiscus Tea vs. Plant-Based Diets for Hypertension http://nutritionfacts.org/video/hibiscus-tea-vs-plant-based-diets-for-hypertension/) and green tea (Dietary Brain Wave Alteration http://nutritionfacts.org/video/dietary-brain-wave-alteration/).

What else can affect our mood?
• Fighting the Blues with Greens? (http://nutritionfacts.org/video/fighting-the-blues-with-greens-mao-inhibitors-in-plants/)
• Aspartame and the Brain (http://nutritionfacts.org/video/aspartame-and-the-brain/)
• Exercise vs. Drugs for Depression (http://nutritionfacts.org/video/exercise-vs-drugs-for-depression)
• Antioxidants and Depression (http://nutrititionfacts.org/video/Antioxidants-and-Depression)

What about the omega-3’s in fish? That’s the subject of my next video, Fish Consumption and Suicide.

Have a question for Dr. Greger about this video? Leave it in the comment section at http://nutritionfacts.org/video/can-dehydration-affect-our-mood and he'll try to answer it!

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"Can Dehydration
Affect Our Mood?"

Water is by far the #1
nutrient in our diet.

Studies have suggested that
proper hydration may lower

our risk of heart
disease and cancer,

and may even make you
a better kisser.

Brushing artificial skin against
the lips of young women,

researchers found that
hydrated lips showed

greater sensitivity
to light touch.

Although it is well known
that water is essential

for human survival, only
recently have we begun

to understand its role in the
maintenance of brain function.

Makes sense, our
brain is 75% water,

and so when we get dehydrated
our brain actually shrinks.

Even mild dehydration,
caused by like exercising

on a hot day has been shown
to change brain function.

I’ve talked about the role of
hydration for cognitive function,

but current findings suggest
that our mood states may also

be positively influenced
by water consumption.

The effects of dehydration
in real life

have not been not
well documented.

It wasn’t until 2013
when the first study

to investigate the effects
of mild dehydration

on a variety of feelings
was published.

What did
they find?

The most important effects
of fluid deprivation

were increased sleepiness
and fatigue,

lower levels of vigor
and alertness,

and increased
confusion.

But as soon as they
gave them some water

the deleterious effects
on alertness, happiness

and confusion were
immediately reversed.

Water absorption actually
happens very rapidly,

within 5 minutes from
mouth to bloodstream,

peaking around
minute 20.

And as an aside, the temperature
of the water appears to matter.

Which do you think is
absorbed more rapidly:

cold water, or warm body
temperature water?

Cold water gets sucked
into the body about 20% faster.

How can you tell if you’re
dehydrated or not?

Why don’t you
ask your body?

If you chugged down some water
and then turned around

and just peed it
all right out,

presumably that would be
your body’s way of saying

Eh, I’m good, all
topped off.

But if you drank a
bunch of water

and your body kept
most of it,

then presumably your
tank was low.

So these researchers
formalized the technique.

You empty your bladder,
then chug down

11ml/kg of body weight,
or 5 ml per pound,

there’s about
240 ml in a cup,

so that’s about 3 cups of water,
you drink 3 cups of water,

and then an hour later
see how much you pee.

The empty circles on this
graph up in the corner

are the dehydrated folks.

Basically this says that
if you drink three cups

and pee out
less than 1

there’s a good chance
you were dehydrated.