7 reasons to avoid dehydration

There are 7 reasons to avoid dehydration.

It doesn’t take much to become dehydrated. Lose just 1.5% of the water in your body (the human body is usually about 60% H2O), and you’ve reached the tipping point of mild dehydration.

It can be brought on by many things—and it can do much more to your body than just make you feel thirsty. Dehydration also brings on health effects ranging from fatigue and smelly breath to more dangerous consequences like distracted driving.

Read also: Guys, here are 5 foods to avoid if you want a six pack 

Here are some reasons why you must drink water
It gives you bad breath: It’s easy to forget to drink water during a busy workday, but at the end of the day you may find people standing unusually far from you when you open your mouth. Dehydration can give you bad breath.

It makes you crave sugar: Dehydration can mask itself as hunger, particularly sugar cravings. This may happen particularly if you’ve been exercising. When you exercise in a dehydrated state, you use glycogen (stored carbohydrate) at a faster rate, thus diminishing your stores more quickly. So once you finish exercising, you will likely crave carbohydrates to help you replenish those glycogen levels and get you ready for your next exercise bout.

It wrecks your workout: Even being slightly dehydrated affects your ability to put effort into your workout. A 2% dehydration level in your body causes a 10% decrease in athletic performance and the more dehydrated you become, the worse performance gets.

It dries your skin out: Keeping skin healthy and glowing requires drinking enough water. It’s best to hydrate from the inside out and depending on your lifestyle you may need to adjust your water intake. If you work out every day or are a caffeine fiend, for instance, then you’ll need to drink more water.

It may affect your ability to drive safely: Few things are more uncomfortable than being stuck in traffic, or on a long drive when you need to use the restroom. Logically, it makes sense to simply not drink water before hitting the road.

It makes you tired: A mid-afternoon slump may have more to do with hydration than you think. When you’re dehydrated your blood pressure drops, heart rate increases, blood flow to the brain slows – all of which can make you tired.

It sours your mood: Cranky much? Drink a glass of water and your mood may change. Neurological effects of dehydration can cause irritability.

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