Water is essential to life and your body is designed to alert you when it’s becoming dehydrated. These signs and symptoms help you prevent illness and harm. For example, you might be putting yourself at risk for a heatstroke, or you may be falling prey to food cravings. Though some are less severe than others, it’s important to realize how reliant you are on water.
Responding to dehydration is as simple as drinking more water, whether spring water vs. filtered water. In any case, it’s still important to not ignore these 5 dehydration symptoms.
Headaches & Migraines
If you suffer from frequent headaches and migraines, typically in the afternoon, your body may be in need of liquids. Fluids are incredibly important to your bodily functions, and water helps blood flow, aid your brain, and keep your organs hydrated. If your head is hurting, or if you feel like your brain blood vessels are dilated, try drinking some water next time. This can add relief to your pain. It’s generally important to stay hydrated to prevent headaches from beginning in the first place. Make sure you don’t run out of water. If you do, you can always opt for home water delivery in Atlanta.
Your Breath Smells Foul
We all have experienced that parched feeling of needing cold water on a particular hot day, but have ever noticed your breath smelling funky after going a certain amount of time without water?
Believe it or not, bad breath is an indication that your body is dehydrated. The most notable reason is due to a lack of saliva as bacteria overgrows in the mouth and causes a particularly smelly odor. Saliva acts as an agent in removing bacteria. Be sure to drink more water if you’re noticing a lack of saliva, are having bad breath, or otherwise feel like there’s a cotton ball in your mouth!
Heat Illness Symptoms
One of the more severe risks of being dehydrated is experiencing a heat illness. Things like fevers, soreness, muscle cramps, and chills all can stem from dehydration.
Your body’s response during a fever actually plays a role in making dehydration more severe. Your body temperature is elevated, you may be sweating, and your system is working overtime in trying to bring down your temperature. Fevers require your body’s liquids so it’s important to stay hydrated when you have a fever. Chills are similar to fevers in that your body’s response causes you to lose liquids, therefore causing dehydration.
Muscle cramps happen as a result of a lack of fluids in your body during physical activity. When you’re exercising with no water in your system, muscles will often times be strained by seizing up. You need to be careful when working out or doing any sort of physical activity by drinking plenty of water to fuel your body and muscles.
Cravings and Overeating
The next time you reach for a snack or crave something sweet and savory, try drinking a glass a water instead. Cravings could be indicative that your body is dehydrated and asking you to fill it. Turning to sugar will actually harm your body and increase your body weight. In reality, all your body is looking for is hydration.
The same is true for eating meals. Drinking water before and during a meal will decrease how hungry you feel. This will discourage overeating and promote weight loss if you remember to drink water consistently. Your body will thank you!
Skin and Body Problems
In quick situations, your skin will alert you of dehydration by becoming dry or ashy. In fact, if you’re exercising pretty hard but aren’t sweating, you need to drink more water. Sweat is a signal that you are hydrated. So, having dry skin with no sweat is a red flag.
Over a long period of time, not drinking enough water is tied to other problems in your body. Constipation, acne, off-color urine, dizziness, and many other symptoms can result from not taking in enough water.
Lipsey Water Keeps You Hydrated
If you’re experiencing any of these symptoms, you now know that you need to increase your water intake. One simple solution to dehydration is getting a water dispenser. Lipsey Water offers dispensers and a service that helps you stay hydrated with the freshest water. We also offer two-week trials! Contact us today to get started so we get your office or home feeling hydrated in no time.