Study Drop: Drinking Water May Boost Brain Power, Reaction Times
Good old H2O: Water helps us stay slim, keeps our skin supple and smooth, and may even protect our hearts. And now a new study suggests that drinking H2O may have another surprising benefit: improved memory and reaction times. How fast can you react to that?
Previous research has shown that mild dehydration can have a negative effect on cognitive performance, and it's a well known fact that not getting enough water can make us feel sluggish. So researchers at the University of East London and the University of Westminster decided to see how hydration would affect people in various test-taking scenarios.
On two separate mornings, they gave 34 adults a variety of memory, attention, learning and reaction-time assessments. On one morning, the participants were given a glass of water and a cereal bar for breakfast beforehand; and on the other day, they only got a cereal bar. (Both groups hadn't ingested anything otherwise since the night before.)
Their research, published today in the journal Frontiers of Human Neuroscience, found that participants' performance on most tests were better on the morning they drank water -- and that their reaction times were up to 14 percent shorter -- especially for those who had reported feeling thirsty before the tests.
"Our studies so far would suggest that it could be helpful to have a drink before taking part in something that required quick reaction times," lead author Caroline Edmonds, PhD, told us. For example, she added, "it certainly wouldn't hurt to have a glass of water before giving a presentation or taking a test."
Somewhat surprisingly, the study also found that performance on a "complex rule-learning task" was actually slightly worse on the days participants had water with their breakfast -- but that does not mean people should stop drinking, cautions Edmonds. "We need to do more studies to find out more about the effects of drinking water," she concludes.
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Image Credit: Riccardo Tinelli