The average adult human is 60% water. It is essential to the survival of your body. Water allows nutrients to move into cells and helps to remove the waste products from the same cells.

Water doesn’t just help your cells function properly. It’s also integral to maintaining body temperature, lubricates your joints, acts as a shock absorber for your brain, and even helps you to form saliva which is essential for oral health.

The general consensus is that you should be drinking 2 liters of water a day. However, the more active you are the greater the volume of water you’ll need to drink.

Water Quality

But, before you start reaching for a glass and turning on the faucet, you need to consider water quality.

The water that comes out of your tap has been treated at the local water plant. However, that doesn’t mean its contaminant free. This water travels miles to get to your house. During that time it can pick up bacteria and a variety of other contaminants.

But, that’s not all! Your tap water also contains chorine and fluoride which have been added at the treatment center. These can be damaging to your health. There are also heavy metals present which aren’t targeted by the water cleaning process.

In order to make sure you’re drinking high-quality water you need to be using a reverse osmosis water filter. It will give you peace of mind.

The Link Between Dehydration & Depression

By now you should realize the importance of drinking plenty of water every day. But, it’s not just your physical health it can affect. Not drinking enough water, or being dehydrated means you’re at increased risk of depression.

When you’re dehydrated your brain doesn’t have as much water as it should. This reduces its ability to transit tryptophan across the brain. As a result of this, your body is less capable of producing serotonin.

Serotonin is known as a neurotransmitter, it transfers signals across your brain. It’s a big task as there are approximately 40 million brain cells in your body. The cells are directly influenced by serotonin control mood, sexual desire, sleep, learning, and even temperature regulation.

In short, if you’re low on serotonin you’re going to start seeing a difference in your mood.  Put simply, you’re going to feel down.

To complicate this further low levels of serotonin are believed to reduce the development of new brain cells. Scientists believe that the suppression of new brain cells and stress are key causes of depression.

That’s why most antidepressant medications focus on boosting serotonin levels in your body.

Being dehydrated affects your body’s ability to produce serotonin, starting the process of depression. The more dehydrated you become the more depressed you are likely to feel, it becomes a vicious circle.

That’s not the only link between dehydration and depression. Research shows that mild dehydration results in a slowing down of brain function, reducing your cognitive ability. In extreme cases, this will result in coma and even death.

The interesting thing is that it doesn’t matter if you’re exercising or sitting still. Not drinking enough water will cause you to be dehydrated and lower your cognitive function.

Once this happens you’ll find it harder to think properly and see solutions to issues, no matter how simple they are. This will immediately knock your self-confidence. The more this happens the greater the likelihood that you’ll be less willing to attempt new things.

A lack of confidence leads to a reduction in social encounters. That lack of social contact can lead to depression as you start to question your self-worth. That’s all because you didn’t stay hydrated!

Stress

When you’re stressed your body releases the hormone cortisol. This inhibits the body’s ability to undertake most other hormone productions. The reason is that your body is getting ready for fight or flight.

Unfortunately, consistently high-stress levels will weaken the ability of your adrenal glands to produce more cortisol. Exhausting your adrenal glands results in lower electrolyte levels which reduces your body’s ability to absorb water.

In short, it won’t matter how much water you drink, you won’t be properly hydrated.

Preventing Depression

It’s worth being aware of your stress levels and taking steps to reduce stress in your life. The two elements form a vicious circle, the more stressed you are the more dehydrated you’ll be and vice versa. That means one of the most critical factors is staying hydrated.

The easiest way to stay hydrated is by drinking water and using the right water filter to ensure you’re drinking high-quality water. While there are many water filters available, reverse osmosis is generally considered the best at removing a wide array of contaminants.

It’s not just the taste you’ll notice is better, staying hydrated is a great way to boost cognitive function and improve life-quality. The difference is noticeable surprisingly quickly.

Are you or a loved one dehydrated or depressed?

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