Dehydration

Not only hunger can cause bad humor. Dehydration, even when it is mild, you can alter the mood, the vitality and the ability to think clearly.

Two studies conducted by the University of Connecticut and the Research Institute of Environmental Medicine of the Army of the United States, focused on the physical and psychological consequences of dehydration. According to the people in charge of the study, the sensation of thirst does not appear until the people are from 1% to 2% dehydrated. The results reveal that by then, the dehydration has already begun to have an impact on the mental and physical performance.

A group of researchers working with women of around 25 years, while the other carried out the research with men by about 20 years. All the volunteers were healthy and doing regular physical activity.

It is proceeded to the participants to 24 hours of "deprivation of fluids" where they could only drink water during the testing, in addition the participants were asked to carry out physical activity. Then, there were a series of tests that measured by factors such as the concentration, alertness, reaction time, memory, reasoning and mood.

In the case of women, the mild dehydration caused headaches, fatigue and difficulty concentrating. In addition, the volunteers felt that the tasks were more difficult. In men, the lack of fluid gender difficulties to perform certain mental tasks, fatigue, anxiety and mood disturbances.

The results of the study demonstrate that even mild dehydration that can occur during everyday activities can affect how we feel, especially in the case of women, who seem to be more sensitive to the effects of dehydration.

These adverse changes in mood can affect the motivation required to engage in exercises, even moderate. Dehydration can also interfere with other daily activities, even when there is no demand of physical activity.