Dehydration affects your brain, kidneys and heart - Know what happens to your body when it is dehydrated
- The human body is made up of about 60 per cent water
- Drinking enough water is important for the body to be healthy, and for efficient body functions
- Here is what happens inside your body when you do not drink enough water
New Delhi: About 71 per cent of the Earth's surface is water. About 60 per cent of the adult human body is water, and about 90 per cent of the body weight comes from water. The stats speak for the importance of water in our body. Water is one of the bare necessities, and survival without drinking water is difficult and impossible, if prolonged.
When it comes to the vital organs of the body, the brain and the heart are composed of 73 per cent water, and the lungs are about 83 per cent water. The skin contains 64 per cent, muscles and kidneys 79 per cent, and the bones contain 31 per cent water respectively. The amount of water required by the body depends on various factors like lifestyle, age, gender, among others. However, not drinking enough water can lead to many complications in the human body.
What happens to your body when you do not drink enough water?
You will be surprised to know that your body is not dehydrated when you feel thirsty, it has already become dehydrated, and your thirst mechanism lags behind. This is why it is recommended to drink water regularly, without waiting to feel thirsty in the first place.
What dehydration does to your brain
While there is little data available when it comes to dehydration and the human brain, it seems that when you are dehydrated, the brain fluid decreases. This reduces brain function and temporarily affects cell function. Dehydration can, therefore, affect your mood significantly, and reduce attention, memory and motor coordination among other brain functions.
Here is how it affects your kidneys
Your kidneys are the organ responsible for flushing out waste from your body, in the form of urine. Urine, as we know, is significantly affected by the amount of water we drink. When you are losing water from your body, without making up for it by drinking enough, the cells in the kidneys receive the signal to retain water in the body. This leads to your body urinating less. As a result, toxins from your body are also not flushed out, as much as they should be.
Dehydration can affect your heart
All liquids in your body are affected by the amount of water your drink, and your blood is no different. When your body is dehydrated, the water content in the blood is reduced, which causes the blood to become thicker. This makes it very difficult for your cardiovascular system, as thicker blood is difficult to pump to the rest of the body. Extra pressure on the cardiovascular system can increase heart rate, and increase blood pressure. Constantly high BP has been associated with the risk of various heart diseases and conditions like heart attack, stroke, etc.
How dehydration affects the rest of the body
Other aspects of the body that not drinking enough water can affect include the cells in your body. The cells shrink and are unable to perform their respective functions properly and efficiently when there is a deficiency of water. Dehydration can also affect the body's ability to control temperature and cause hyperthermia, a condition where the body's temperature is higher than normal.