One of the first symptoms of anxiety is the feeling of dry mouth and drinking water becomes a tool to help calm that state of uneasiness, said psychologist Silvia Álava in a lecture on the importance of water for cognitive development delivered at the XX Conference of Practical Nutrition in 2016.
But, in addition, with dehydration the circulation of stress hormones, cortisol, increases and physiological processes are set in motion similar to when the body is in a situation of danger or unrest.
Different studies show that stress has an impact on intellectual performance, affects slowness of thought, reflexes and causes errors in conflict resolution.
“I recommend students to study with a small bottle of water that helps them maintain attention and concentration and also take it to the exams to lower those levels and control anxiety,” said the specialist at the conference held at the Faculty of Medicine of the Complutense University of Madrid.
There are studies that indicate that a dehydration of 2.7% can make you have a greater sense of effort to do the tasks along with sadness, fatigue and decay.
“Well hydrated you will maintain a good state of mind,” points out Silvia Álava.
Dehydration and cognitive function.
If dehydration affects the way you feel, much more it affects the way your brain functions.
Scientific evidence has shown that even with 1% or 2% dehydration, short-term memory, visual selective attention tasks, concentration and reaction time begin to suffer.
But in general, dehydration produces a significant decrease in perception, attention, memory, thought, language and psychomotor performance. In short, of the cognitive function as a whole, in addition to the physical repercussions.
For this reason, Silivia Álava considers it essential to educate from childhood on the regular habit of drinking water so that they get used to asking for it and drinking it.
“Children do not arrive at school well hydrated and this has repercussions on their lack of attention, tiredness and even irritability. And that is aggravated if they arrive without breakfast,” he warns.
The consumption of liquids, especially water, is vital for the functioning of the human body at all ages, but besides children, another risk group is the elderly who suffer alteration of the thirst mechanism and can spend hours without drinking water, something that affects them especially physically and cognitively.
For this reason, the psychologist encourages institutions to promote education for a correct intake of water and other liquids, which according to international health authorities should be 2 liters in the case of women and 2.5 liters for men.