Hydration plays a big role in achieving and maintaining an optimal state of internal balance (homeostasis). Let’s talk about why maintaining a proper level of hydration is important! In order to really grab your attention, I’m going to use an analogy! We’ll look at dehydration as if it were the ocean during low tide. During low tide, the ocean’s water has been pulled into the deep blue sea, and the seashore is exposed, lifeless, and dry. Life force energy cannot survive for long on the shore without water.
So, how does this relate to the human body?
The human body is approximately 60% water and that percentage can increase depending on body surface area, so basically the bigger, taller, and the more muscle mass you have, the more water you will need to stay hydrated. Dehydration, in a way, mimics a low tide because the body is left feeling lifeless, depleted of energy, and it literally cannot survive without water.
What happens to the body when we are dehydrated?
Numerous chemical processes occur continuously every single day in the form of metabolic reactions, cell signaling, DNA replication, repair, and transcription, and immune responses. All of these processes require the water molecule. When water is unavailable, the body pulls water from wherever it can find it, and just like the ocean, it does it at an expedient rate to maintain balance. But, if there’s not enough water available, the body becomes stressed out and begins to run on overdrive. Not only that, the body sends a signal to our kidneys, telling them to hold on to all the extra water it gets (that’s one reason why we become bloated) or extract it from foods and caffeinated and/or sugary drinks that only have a small fraction of the water our bodies need. The body does it like life depends on it, and quite frankly it does.
The result?
In conclusion, when we are dehydrated, the body still needs the properties of the water molecule to function efficiently. The only difference is, we are stressed out internally, trying really hard to find and replace water. When dehydrated, we are left feeling dry, sluggish, and fatigued with brain fog. Over time your body will make adjustments and be able to function with less amounts of water however, internally, the body remains in a super stressful state. It’s no wonder why stress is considered to be the SILENT killer! So, treat your body like the moon treats low tide. Don’t leave it that way for too long, replenish it and help your body maintain an internal state of balance and less stress!
Next blog post will be about body temperature and how just a small increase or decrease requires a high metabolic demand.
