Were you recently exhausted and unable to focus or perform even the most basic math operations? Even though you get a good night’s sleep every night, are you still exhausted? A simple glass of water can make an enormous difference. Water helps you think faster and sharpen your mind.
The University of East London conducted a study that found that a well-hydrated brain performs better and is more focused on the task at hand.
There were 34 men and women involved in the research:
At the start of the experiment, the participants were asked how thirsty they were and given no food or water for the night.
This was followed by several cognitive assessments, the first of which was administered immediately after the subjects had eaten nothing but cereal bars and water as a breakfast.
Those who said they weren’t thirsty at the start of the experiment performed equally well on the test whether they drank water with breakfast or not.
As reported in the journal Frontiers in Human Neuroscience, participants who reported being thirsty before the experiment finished the tests 14% faster after having breakfast that included drinking water with their cereal bar.
Dr. Caroline Edmonds, a researcher, found that drinking water with breakfast freed up attentional resources in the brain that were telling the body that it was thirsty.
Dr. Edmonds’ previous research has shown that children who drink water before taking tests perform up to a 33% better than those who don’t. Her most recent study, however, found that after drinking water, volunteers performed worse on a difficult mental test. Because of this, it’s not clear why.
Another study done in the United Kingdom found that people’s grey matter can shrink when they don’t drink enough water. Wearing the most clothing to elicit sweating resulted in teenagers losing 4 kilogrammes of sweat and their brain tissue shrinking after an hour of cycling, according to a new study.
Dehydration can cause as much damage to the brain as a year of ageing, which is why it is so important to stay hydrated by drinking plenty of water. Fortunately, drinking a few glasses of water can lessen the effects.
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