It can also happen when you drink too much plain water without added electrolytes. Hyponatremia can occur when you lose too much of your body’s water supplies without replenishing the sodium. The symptoms of hyponatremia are mostly neurological and include headaches, confusion, and even delirium. It’s responsible for maintaining the proper amount of fluid outside of your cell and for regulating the electrical signals between the cells.Īmongst all the electrolyte disorders, a sodium deficiency-called hyponatremia-is the most common. Sodium is one of the most important electrolytes in the body. While severe dehydration is not incredibly common, it’s extremely dangerous and can even lead to death. Your heart won’t work as well, your blood pressure will drop, you might have trouble breathing, and you might experience some serious brain fog. If you lose too many electrolytes through the skin, gastrointestinal tract, or kidneys, you’ll experience a variety of side effects. Thanks to these electrical impulses, your heart can beat, your lungs can breathe, and you’re able to think-in addition to performing many other actions of the brain. But keep in mind that electricity allows your cells to send impulses to each other, which is at the crux of our body’s functions.
We’ll spare you the details of this incredibly sophisticated process. These minerals conduct electricity, which is the main way that our cells communicate with one another. When it comes to the electrolytes that we put into our body, we’re talking about minerals that are dissolved in our body’s fluids. These ions have a positive or negative charge-hence the name electro lytes. You might remember that electrolytes are salts that produce ions-or electrically-charged molecules-when they’re dissolved in water.
Let’s briefly go back to our high school chemistry class to answer this question. Your body needs both water and the proper ratio of electrolytes in order to stay hydrated. So, while it may seem like dehydration is the simple process of not getting enough water, there’s an equally important factor in the equation: electrolytes.
While thirst doesn’t always indicate dehydration, your body is likely already dehydrated by the time you feel thirsty.ĭehydration occurs when the body loses more fluid than it had a chance to replenish. When you start drinking, your body regulates when you’ve had enough and sends signals to your brain to make you feel satisfied. The process goes something like this: When you lose more fluids than you take in, your body sends signals to your brain that make you feel thirsty.
For this reason, your body tries to keep your water supply as balanced as possible. You might know that the human body is about 60% water, which has hundreds of vital functions.Įven a 1% reduction in your total body water can have noticeable effects on your body and brain. What Does Your Body Need to Stay Hydrated?īefore we get to talking about electrolytes, let’s briefly talk about what hydration is in the first place.
0 kommentar(er)
