How Dehydrated are You? The #Brain and World #Water Day

Did you know that we are losing water with each breath we take? When sweating or eliminating waste, it may be more obvious. We're constantly losing water, the essential fuel for our bodies but more importantly our brains run on. So if you notice that you usually feel afternoon fatigue, have sleep issues, focus issues, depressed...those are symptoms of dehydration (though see a doctor if you feel there is something else going on).

For World Water Day, I've done a drawing illustrating several important points between water and our brains:

• Our brain is 85% water and will begin to shrink when it becomes dehydrated. When we wake up after we sleep, our brains are already dehydrated. DEHYDRATION SHRINKS YOUR GREY MATTER! Breathing through the night is the longest stretch of time we don't replenish ourselves. One-percent of dehydration leads to 5% shortage of cognitive function. So drink a glass of water when you get up.
• In my drawing, I show that by the right side of the brain image looking rock like. It's dried up and needs water to bring it back to full capacity. The water being poured into the back party of the brain is being quickly absorbed.

• Drinking water on a regular basis helps to deliver nutrients and remove toxins that build up in the brain.
• That fact is represented in the above drawing where the black dots are toxins in the brain. The glass of water that is being poured on the brain is flushing out the toxins. The toxins end up in the puddle of water.

Learning about the brain and water has certainly convinced me to step up and be more conscious of the amount of water I drink each day. On average, an adult loses 80 ounces of water a day. That's a lot when you consider how much water you aren't drinking. Soda, coffee, tea, milk, juice doesn't count.

Why does your brain need to much water? It is the part of your body that uses up twice as much energy than anything else. The energy is needed to produce hormones and neurotransmitters for you to function optimally. Also our brains can't store water so it needs to be replenished regularly throughout the day.

I don't have as good a memory as I would like as I explain in this brain painting of mine. Chronic dehydration may be the cause! Something that is fortunately fixable!

I'll leave you with this quote from an article I read in my research:

"On average, the amount of shrinkage equated to 14 months of age-related wear and tear, or the withering away associated with two and a half months of Alzheimer's disease." [2]

Drink up!

Regards,
Michelle Hunter

Contemporary Artist
Tel: (646) 504-5034
www.hunterart.com
info@hunterart.com
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Get a FREE handwritten postcard from me! Join my mailing list here: http://bit.ly/HunterArtList
Contact me to commission a painting or drawing (info@hunterart.com / 646-504-5034)
The Brain Series of Paintings, so far: http://hunterart.blogspot.com/p/brain-paintings.html
Purchase prints to fit your space here: http://www.hunterart.imagekind.com
Like on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/hunterart
Follow on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/artcoholic
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Sources:
1. Hear, Merlin, "How to Improve Memory, Focus, and Concentration" www.waterbenefitshealth.com
2. Macrae, Fiona, "Water on the brain: Grey matter literally shrinks without hydration" www.dailymail.co.uk, May 20, 2010