That wobbly friend between your ears is made up of approximately 80% Water, and even 2% dehydration can negatively impact your daily performance.
Especially now, during the summer months and heatwaves, it is super important to stay hydrated to avoid your brain packing its suitcase, so it can get away from your utter hydration neglect.
We have some handy facts and tips for staying sharp and hydrated before you go and jump into a refreshing pool to cool down (FYI, the yucky pool water you accidentally swallow does not really count towards your daily water intake, sorry to disappoint).
The Perks of A Hydrated Brain
- Improved Memory
- Better focus and attention
- Processing of information is much quicker
- You will notice you might be less irritable
- Fewer headaches
- Less energy level fluctuations
- Flushing out toxins and metabolic waste that accumulates in the brain quicker
- Improved maintenance of neurogenesis (creation of new neurons) and overall brain cell health, including cell production, function and longevity
- Better at balancing your hormone levels: It plays a role in producing neurotransmitters and hormones and is also necessary for lowering your levels of the stress hormone cortisol
- Maintaining proper blood circulation and transport of vitamins, minerals and oxygen to your brain
- It will stop your bare thighs from sticking to furniture in summer — just kidding, but we wish it would!
How much water do I need?
Roughly aim for 2–3 litres of water a day.
How much water you need depends on where in the world you are, your body, and your activity level, so if in doubt, your doctor can provide you with a more personalised recommendation.
We also found an online water calculator very helpful to get an idea of how much water you need.
Easy Tricks To Boost Your Water Intake
- Start early! Put a glass of water next to your bed before you go to sleep and drink it as soon as you get up. Your brain loses water overnight, so this trick is perfect for giving your brain a kickstart into the day.
- Use a big enough bottle with measurements on the side to keep track of your intake. We love this one, as it reminds us of our cute Turtle Traffic turtle: Turtle Water Bottle.
- If you get bored of just plain water, add lemon, cucumber, watermelon or herbs to change the flavour, or invest in one of these water bottles that use scents to trick your brain into drinking more water: Air Up Water Bottle.
- Set water reminders on your phone or download a water reminder app such as the Waterllama app for iOS, which is made in Ukraine and is such a beautifully designed app that we had to mention it here! For Android users, we can recommend Plant Nanny, where you can grow a little plant by watering it and yourself simultaneously. It makes drinking water finally fun!
We hope our tips made your brain happy, so it unpacked its little suitcase, and you two worked it out.
We are curious. Do you have any other hydration tips? What is your brain hydration routine? Also, if you know how not to swallow a bucket load of water when enjoying some pool time, let us know; we would really appreciate some tricks in that department.
