Hydration, specifically the lack of it (dehydration), can result in tiredness and fatigue by affecting several of your body's functions, including blood volume and oxygen delivery. You may also feel low on energy due to dehydration's ability to impair thermoregulation.
Understanding how hydration can make you energetic or fatigued is particularly crucial to avoid dangerous, even life-threatening conditions.
As the Mayo Clinic points out, dehydration can be deadly if it causes heat injuries or hypovolemic shock. The latter refers to a severe loss of fluid or blood.
By familiarizing yourself with hydration tips and tiredness solutions, you can minimize your risks of experiencing such complications while also keeping your energy levels high.
What Is the Difference Between Fatigue and Tiredness?
While some people may use the terms tiredness and fatigue interchangeably, they're different in that they have varying durations.
Tiredness, which indicates you need sleep, is temporary. In many cases, getting enough high-quality sleep can resolve it. As the U.S. CDC recommends, most adults should get at least 7 to 8 hours of good-quality ZZZs each night.
Fatigue, on the other hand, is a more persistent feeling of exhaustion, often characterized by low to no energy, lasting for more than just a few days. A single night of sleep may not be enough to fix it.
Tiredness can stem from simple reasons, such as if you've exerted physical effort (e.g., you played a few rounds of volleyball). Another is if you had a good but late night with friends or family.
The culprits behind fatigue, however, are more complex and can range from lifestyle factors (e.g., a lack of sufficient daily water intake) to health issues and chronic illnesses.
What Are Three Warning Signs of Fatigue?
If you think you're experiencing fatigue, you likely are if you notice these symptoms:
- Brain fog: A feeling of mental cloudiness, often characterized by memory issues, slowed thinking, poor concentration, and difficulty focusing
- A severe and persistent lack of energy: Tiredness and weakness that goes on for days
- Emotional changes: Becoming more irritable and impatient or losing interest and motivation with work or in things you once enjoyed
You may also experience physical manifestations of fatigue, such as:
- Muscle aches and cramps
- Headaches
- Dizziness
Sleep problems may also arise, such as difficulty falling and staying asleep.
How Do Low Hydration Levels Affect Tiredness and Fatigue?
A lack of hydration can affect the body and trigger tiredness and fatigue through several means, from decreasing blood volume to impairing oxygen delivery. Dehydration can do all these and more, given that the body uses water for nearly all functions, including:
- Nutrient transport
- Temperature regulation
- Waste removal
- Cellular activities
Decreasing Blood Volume
Blood consists primarily of water. Losing fluids, such as through sweating, can therefore reduce your blood plasma's water content.
Plasma refers to the liquid part of the blood, which is pale yellow in color. According to the American Society of Hematology, it accounts for 55% of the blood. The remaining 45% consists of blood cells.
When you lack hydration, your blood becomes thicker. The thicker it is, the harder your heart has to work to pump it throughout the body. The effects can be more prominent during hot summer days, particularly in the middle of the day.
All that extra work can make you and your body feel tired.
Impairing Oxygen Delivery
As dehydration reduces blood volume and makes blood thicker, it also makes blood harder to circulate. When this happens, the oxygen from your lungs will have difficulty making its way to your tissues, which can then lead to fatigue and poor performance.
Affecting Thermoregulation
Your body's primary cooling mechanism is sweating. Efficient sweating, however, requires your body to have adequate fluids.
The problem is that low hydration levels mean there's not enough fluid in your system. It's through this that sweat production becomes impaired.
If your body overheats because it can't sweat properly, you won't just feel tired; you can also become more susceptible to heat-related injuries and illnesses.
What Are Hydration Strategies That Can Also Help With Fatigue Prevention?
One of the most crucial is to drink fluids regularly, not just when you feel thirsty. Thirst already indicates low hydration levels, so it's best not to wait for this.
You can also reinforce the habit of replenishing fluid levels by carrying a reusable water bottle. By making water easily accessible, you'll more likely remember to drink or even take small sips throughout the day.
If you feel tired and need "fuel" to get you through the day, consider sugar-free drink options, such as the fruity energy shots from 5-Hour Energy. Fruits and vegetables like watermelon, strawberries, and cucumbers can also be healthy, hydrating snacks that can rejuvenate and refresh you.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why Is Alcohol Not Ideal for Hydration?
Alcoholic beverages may be in liquid form, but they can be dehydrating since they're diuretic. Diuretics are substances that promote urination by triggering the kidneys to excrete water from the body as urine.
The more alcohol consumed, the more frequent urination occurs, along with faster fluid and electrolyte loss. Such dehydrating effects can then contribute to your feeling fatigued.
Alcohol can also make you feel even more tired because it's a depressant. It can affect the quality of your sleep, too, impairing it and causing you to have difficulty falling or staying asleep. As a result, you may feel tired after a night of drinking.
How Much Water Should You Drink Daily?
As a general guideline from Harvard Health Publishing, adequate daily fluid intake for adult men is around 15.5 cups and 11.5 cups for women. You should drink more if you perspire a lot (e.g., you do a lot of laborious work or whenever you exercise) and during hot days.
Stay Well Hydrated to Fight Off Fatigue
Low hydration levels can compound feelings of tiredness and fatigue throughout the day. If you experience dehydration, you may notice its effects are more prominent during midday (e.g., when it's hot and you sweat a lot) and at night, when it can impair your sleep.
Before any of that happens, keep yourself well-hydrated and, as much as possible, follow the appropriate fluid intake guidelines.
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