The Warning Signs of Dehydration and the Easy Way to Stay Hydrated

It’s embarrassing to admit that despite the many years I’ve lived in my body, I’m just discovering the symptoms of dehydration and how dramatically being dehydrated can affect me.

Years ago, as a teenager visiting Hawaii, I suffered from heat stroke. I’ve always assumed my subsequent sensitivity to heat on the top of my head was due to that event. Now I realize that the heat stroke occurred because I was dehydrated. My brain’s sensitivity to the hot sun is due to a lack of enough water in my body to protect it.

It’s easy to become dehydrated when it’s hot out and not be aware of it. When you’re exercising, most people realize that they’re sweating, and that helps them realize they should rehydrate. 

But if you’re just hot, many times our perspiration, which is the result of our body’s attempt to cool us down, evaporates quickly so we don’t notice it.  We lose essential electrolyte minerals like potassium, magnesium and calcium that keep our bodies functioning optimally. Dehydration sneaks up on us without our realizing it.

Here are some tips that will help you recognize when you’re becoming dehydrated and how to rehydrate quickly and nutritiously.

Water makes our brains work well

Recently, after chasing a 3-year-old around on a sunny day, I experienced brain fog, and I discovered the cause was dehydration. Our brains are made of 73% water (!) ^[source] and even losing 1-2% of our fluids can cause our brains to slow down our cognitive processing, creating confusion, fatigue, and moodiness.  Anxiety and tension can accompany dehydration, along with dizziness and headaches. Our neural synapses just can’t function well in the absence of enough water.

Dehydrated brains play havoc with our hormones too. Cortisol, our stress hormone, is increased in production while the hormones that contribute to our happiness, like serotonin and dopamine are decreased. Depression can even be triggered by dehydration.

Our cognitive function and decision-making can be a matter of life or death, especially in extreme heat. Recently, a famous couple died in their car when their AC stopped working and they ran out of water. Confusion must have played a role as the car’s engine worked fine and they had plenty of gas, but they didn’t drive somewhere to get cool. Let’s take our brain’s need for water seriously when it’s hot out!

The body’s symptoms of dehydration

Our bodies really start to malfunction when we’re dehydrated. Our hearts start to beat rapidly which is caused by low blood pressure due to reduced blood volume. Low blood pressure is part of what causes dizziness.

Stress on our kidneys can contribute to the formation of kidney stones and to urinary tract infections. Too little water in our digestive tract leads to hard stools which causes painful constipation. Muscle cramps can also result from dehydration because our bodies lack enough essential electrolyte minerals to keep our muscles functioning and recovering well.

Bad breath can be attributed to dehydration and low saliva volume not only affects our digestion, but it also produces dry mouth, which accelerates tooth decay.

Dull skin can reflect a loss of elasticity that too little water causes. If you’re wondering if you’re dehydrated, pinch your skin on the back of your hand to see if it quickly returns to normal. If it stays “tented”, you may need more water – one caveat: if you’re older, your skin isn’t as elastic and it may stay “tented” longer. You may be adequately hydrated so don’t be concerned if it takes a while to smooth out.

Sleep and hydration

Going to sleep dehydrated isn’t good for your health, but many people worry that if they drink something close to bedtime, they’ll wake up needing to urinate and not fall asleep.

Unfortunately, dehydration will wake you up too, and it can even prevent you from falling asleep. Dry mouth is very uncomfortable and often the result of too much alcohol, which is dehydrating. Drink a cup of a caffeine-free beverage like herbal tea two hours before bedtime to prevent waking up during the night from dehydration.

Hydrate the easy way

Let’s all become more aware of easy ways to stay hydrated. Of course, water is the cure, but keeping motivated to drink water can be the problem. People drink sodas, but they’re typically sugar laden which pulls water out of your tissues and into your intestines to process it. Too many caffeinated beverages can actually contribute to dehydration because caffeine is a diuretic.

Lots of people are using packets of electrolytes to add to their water. I recommend checking their ingredients to make sure they are free of sugar and artificial ingredients. Personally, I want my electrolytes to be natural, so I prefer to get them from plants that I eat and drink. Plants are also full of antioxidants that are essential to protecting our health, especially when we’re stressed.

My solution: Make your water tasty, nutritious, but not caloric. If you infuse your water with herbs, you’ll get the benefit of their unique antioxidants, their natural mineral content and other phytonutrients that protect your health. Teeccino delivers natural potassium and water-soluble antioxidants from its herbal ingredients, helping your body rehydrate quickly and efficiently.

Here are a few simple ways to include iced Teeccino in your summer hydration routine:

1. Add any Instant Teeccino Herbal Coffees to your water bottle. Simply add a scoop of the powder to filtered water and shake. If you don’t finish all the liquid during the day, it’ll still taste good the next day. Just refrigerate overnight!
   
   
2.  For a refreshing iced glass, add a scoop of Instant Teeccino Herbal Coffee and fill it ¾ full with filtered water. Stir and add ice until the glass is full. Sweeten if desired. Add some milk/nondairy milk if you want a creamy iced Teeccino.
   
   
3.  Brew up a pot of Teeccino and refrigerate the leftover liquid. Grab a glass and enjoy iced Teeccino anytime during the day or evening.

Enjoy summer and stay hydrated! 

About the author

Caroline MacDougall is the founder of Teeccino and an award-winning tea designer with over 20 years of experience in the herbal tea industry. Before creating Teeccino, she formulated herbal beverages for numerous manufacturers, including developing herbal teas for The Republic of Tea. She founded Teeccino to offer delicious, caffeine-free herbal coffees and teas that let people enjoy a coffee-like ritual while supporting their health and hydration.