Why dehydration makes people more stressful

In a hot or drought season, people tend to turn off their dressings and in addition take time more break time off their work for resting.When you look at the face of a driver who has covered a long distance for hours, or a pedestrian who has been working under unprotective weather conditions, you realise the impact of increased water loss from the body. Such individuals seemingly present with enlarged superficial veins on their skin surfaces especially on the face as the body responds to high water loss to increase peripheral blood circulation.What I want to stress is that increased loss of water from the body can lead to stress and the reverse is true.The human brain that has to work spontaneously throughout life requires more water than any other part of the body. One of the most active group of cells in the body are brain cells. They consist of more than 80 per cent of water and thus their function is dependent on water.The hydroelectric energy from the body water supply by cell osmosis is vital to the brain cellular function though other sources of energy supply from metabolised glucose generates energy for work.The brain, being a vital organ of the body system, accounts for more water supply. Water actually contains an estimated 20-25 per cent of all the blood that circulates through the body system.Therefore, we have to understand that the brain function largely depends on water and metabolite generated source of energy in order to maintain its huge complex processes.The rise of stress from dehydration results by the fact that water deficiency in the brain tissue cuts down the brain’s energy supply and this slows down many of its vital functions. When the efficiency of brain action is slowed down due to dehydration, people present body symptoms of stress or depression.In such a situation, where there is a lower than normal level of brain energy, the person’s life fails to meet the physical, personal and social challenges. The act of sleeping at work without any other meditated body illness is largely due to stress or depression brought about by the decrease of brain efficiency.This is why some informed individuals move with bottles of water during dry whether as this helps to rehydrate the body system from time to time.Another life experience is that dehydrated individuals succumb to social attributes such as fear, anxiety, anger and other emotional tribulations. This can partly be attributed to the inefficiency of the brain cells to control some brain meditated activity.Some people who do not like taking water and rely on other fluids such as milk, sodas and fruit juice develop a condition known as chronic fatigue syndrome.This health condition is mostly a symptom of progressive brain dehydration that results from the inability to readily remove all metabolic waste matter and cellular waste products from the brain and other vital parts of the body. Chronic fatigue syndrome is also seen in people with increased intake of toxic drinks such as alcohol, high concentrated caffeine, smoking and drugs.However, chronic fatigue syndrome disappears quite spontaneously when the afflicted person refrains from stimulating the brain with such substances.It should also be noted that drinking a lot of water only during drought conditions might not solve dehydration problems. This is because in some circumstances, dehydration can be an alarming sign of adrenal fatigue.An individual is suffering from adrenal gland fatigue presents with cravings with too much sugar, too much salt or addition of extra salt in food, general exhaustion and sometimes difficulty in relaxing.Adrenal glands are usually two small glands near kidneys and secrete aldosterone hormone, which regulates water levels and the concentration of minerals, helping us staying hydrated.The glands are responsible for regulating stress response. When we experience stress, more aldosterone and sodium circulate in our bodies. When stress-free, aldosterone levels falls and sodium leaves the bloodstream. Therefore, people with high levels of stress tend to weaken adrenal glands dehydrating their body system and even if you drink a lot of water you may not be able to get needed hydration.The best solution is to hydrate your body regularly. People need to develop water-taking habits to fight dehydration. You need to take water slowly and in small quantities. This is why sitting or moving with a bottle of water is healthy. Drink only small quantities of water with your food although you will dilute gastric juice that digests your food. It is also important to avoid alcohol, sodas, concentrated coffee (coffe should be taken in very small quantities more frequently in the evening hours). Dr Joseph Kamugisha is a resident oncologist in Jerusalem, Israel