5 Surprising ways Hydration Affects Your Body

Summer is heating up here in the southeast, and it’s more and more important to make sure you’re getting enough fluids. Keep reading to find out why hydration is important and how to make sure you’re getting enough.

1. Water helps regulate your body temperature

It probably doesn’t need to be said, but when it gets hot outside or we’re working out, we sweat. This sweat helps our body cool off through evaporative cooling. So, remember if you’re sweating, to drink more fluids

2. Water helps Keep joints lubricated

As we age, many people find they have more aches and pains in their back and knees, and may even develop painful arthritis. Studies have shown that in well hydrated systems, the discs in your spine can gain more volume giving you more cushion in your spine. Other studies have shown and the properties of cartilage and synovial fluid (lubricating fluid) in joints are related to how hydrated you are. All this is to say, by staying hydrated, you are giving your joints more cushioning and lubrication and may find some pain relief.

3. Proper hydration can help prevent urinary problems

Our kidneys work to filter our waste products from our blood and send it to the bladder to be expelled through urination. When we are dehydrated, these waste products are more highly concentrated and can irritate the bladder leading to sudden urges to use the toilet and make someone more susceptible to UTIs. UTIs in older adults can lead systemic infections, cognitive changes, and more. By pairing good hygiene with enough fluids your bladder will thank you.

4. Good hydration improves your brain function

While our bodies are approximately 60% water, our brains are 75% water, so it only makes sense that changes in hydration can lead to changes in brain function. Studies have shown that cognitive function declines when your body loses only 2% of its body water. These cognitive declines include decreased concentration and short term memory, increased reaction time, and negative mood changes. Many daily headaches can be attributed to mild dehydration as well.

In good news, studies show that improving your hydration levels can improve your mood, energy, and attention. These benefits are even better in school children and the elderly.

5. Mild dehydration can cause orthostatic hypotension

There are a few reasons why people might get dizzy when they first stand up, but one common reason I see is called “orthostatic hypotension”. Which basically means low blood pressure with position changes. While some causes of this are related to cardiovascular problems, even mild hydration can lead to dizziness upon standing. This can be dangerous for older adults who may fall, and can be helped by ensuring proper hydration.

So how much water do you need?

Individuals do have different fluid needs depending on activity, climate, and other factors, a good rule of thumb is around 2 Liters, or 8 cups of hydrating fluids a day, which includes the water in your teas, juices as well.

Check out these water bottles that can help you get on track to meeting this goal!

Stay Hydrated and Your body will thank you!

Partnership with the Arthritis Foundation!

As we shared in our last post, the Arthritis Foundation is offering a FREE Pain Management Exercise Series of TherHab Fitness Classes in recognition of Arthritis Awareness Month in May.

We are excited to announce that Dr. Tomkoski is featured in one of the fitness classes to be shared next month!

In order to access the classes for FREE, please register at this link. There you will find the summary and more information about the partnership.

If you are experiencing joint pain that limits your ability to do what you love and are looking for help, click here to schedule a consultation to see if physical therapy is right for you!

Will COVID-19 Change the Typical PT Patient?

People usually see a physical therapist for pain or loss of function. Think of the person who has back pain, the injured athlete or the person who's had a stroke. They all want to improve how they move and complete tasks. Now, there is good reason to wonder if physical therapists will start seeing more people who are not in pain or having difficulty moving.

Why would these people come to a PT? To improve their overall health and wellness.

There is strong evidence to suggest that movement is a valuable predictor of future health and resilience against disease.

Physical therapists are movement specialists, so taking advantage of their expertise makes sense if your goal is to become healthier and live longer. Here are some examples of the power of movement when it comes to predicting future health:

Gait Speed

Gait Speed is how fast you walk. Studies have shown that if your typical walking speed is over 1 m/s or 3.3 ft/s, you're probably able to complete typical daily activities without help. You're also less likely to be hospitalized and less likely to have adverse events like falls (such as hip fractures).

If you'd like to test yourself, measure out a straight, flat course to walk that is between 10' and 30' long. You'll also need 5' or so at the beginning and the end for acceleration and deceleration, so you can get an accurate measurement. Walk the course at your typical speed and divide the length of the course by how long it took you to walk it (distance/time). That's your gait speed.

Get On and Off the Floor

A series of studies suggests that if you can go from standing to sitting on the floor and back to standing without using your hands, you're a lot less likely to die than someone who can't. It's called the sitting-rising test. Here's how it works:

You start standing, and without support you sit down on the floor, then stand back up. You start with a score of 10. Every time you put a hand, knee, forearm or the side of your leg on the floor you lose 1 point. Putting a hand on your knee or thigh to help also costs 1 point. A loss of balance costs 1/2 a point. In a sample of over 2,000 people, they found that scoring less than 8 points made you twice as likely to die in the next 6 years when compared to people who scored higher. Score 3 or less and you're 5 times more likely to die in the same period. Overall, each point in the test is worth a 21% decrease in mortality from all causes.

These tests aren’t specific to any one thing.

The risk of hospitalization in the gait speed studies was hospitalization for any reason. Death in the sitting-rising studies was death from anything. So, while we know that exercise and healthy lifestyle reduce your risk of specific diseases like heart disease or diabetes, it appears that being able to move may provide much more wide-ranging protection than we previously thought.