So I want to share a few thoughts about hydration in general and then a few specific tips for those individuals that are more active than the average person.
I was reading in the Toronto Star about a week ago about a study that claimed students perform better on exams when properly hydrated. The study included a test group of 1st year students who typically arrived for exams without water and compared their results to older, year 3 and 4 students who typically brought water to their exams. The results indicated approximately 4.2 % increase in test scores for those year 3 and 4 students. Furthermore, students expressed the effects of drinking water during tests as: having a break in a bottle, feelings of being refreshed and that they were able to think more clearly. Unfortunately, I can’t find the link but if you’re wondering how it might improve your mental focus and energy levels, try consuming more water daily.
I think this article really made me think that many people are really walking around dehydrated. When the body is dehydrated you might feel thirsty but you’re also more likely to feel fatigued, less focused and hold more muscle tension. Most of these effects are scientifically proven somewhere but I’m not going to go there. If you want to search that information out then you know, use Google.
To get to my point, try consuming more water and document how you feel each day. Note feelings of fatigue-less vs. more, mental focus, and consider how your body is working or how tense your muscles feel.
If you are an active individual, then consider how well muscles perform when you are well hydrated and think about drinking more water daily to improve performance, but then make sure that before the big event you are consuming water 1 week prior to the event especially if you are running a marathon. And remember that every time you drink coffee, tea, or alcohol they all have diuretic effects, so drink a glass of water afterward.