“Drink water” is one of those relentless health hacks you hear anytime you’re sick, working out, catching a flight, feeling a little off, etc., etc. And for good reason—staying hydrated provides benefits like helping your body get rid of toxins, preventing problems like kidney stones and urinary tract infections, maintaining healthy blood pressure and glucose levels, and keeping energy levels up, to name a few.
But aside from these more obvious perks, drinking water also helps your work performance—a key thing to note since over half of women say they forget to drink water throughout the day. Dehydration can influence your ability to think through challenges, stay alert, and generally do your best on the job. In fact, as soon as you notice these eight signs while working, pause for a few sips to come out the other side refreshed.
8 times to drink a glass of water
1. When you’re tired
If you’ve ever worked in an office (or just lived on this planet for a while), you know how much people like to say they’re tired. No one ever seems to get enough sleep, and we blame what happened the night before for feeling sluggish and fatigued at work.
But dehydration has a big impact on sleepiness. Not drinking enough water can actually lead to poor sleep at night, and it can also reduce blood flow and oxygen to the brain. Your body needs a ton of liquid to function properly, so everything slows down when you’re dehydrated, making you feel extra sleepy overall.
2. When you’re distracted
It’s no surprise, then, that a lack of water can also impact your concentration. One study found that dehydration impairs cognitive performance, particularly related to attention, executive function, and motor coordination.
Basically, when our bodies don’t have the proper water levels, the brain doesn’t work as well. This can make you feel distracted easily and challenged to focus on one thing for very long. At work, this means it takes longer than usual to complete or understand a task, which can cause frustration.
Think of your brain as a high-powered machine that needs regular lubrication.
3. When you’re irritable
Water also affects mood. Sometimes there’s nothing you can do to avoid “one of those days,” where everything seems to be going wrong, and your mood takes a big hit. But extra irritability could also be a sign of dehydration.
A study by the University of Connecticut’s Human Performance Laboratory found that when female subjects were mildly dehydrated, they “perceived tasks as more difficult,” on top of experiencing concentration issues, fatigue, and headaches. Interestingly, the men had similar experiences, but the mood changes were much more present in females than in males.
Keeping that mood up is a must to stay focused, positive, and motivated at work.
4. When you can’t remember things
When we can’t remember something small, like a word or name, we blame a lack of sleep, our “mind going blank,” a brain fog, or even our age. But dehydration could be the culprit for memory problems at work.
When brain cells don’t get enough water, they don’t work as well as they should. That’s because electrolytes have to be balanced properly for full brain function, including memory, and those electrolytes are maintained through drinking enough water. Staying hydrated helps you stay mentally sharp.
5. When you have a headache
That headache you’re battling may not be totally caused by a frustrating boss or an extra-long meeting. The tissue in your brain can actually shrink (temporarily) when you lose fluids, which causes pain. A lack of oxygen to the brain and electrolyte imbalances due to dehydration can also trigger a headache.
A dehydration headache can feel like your head is being squeezed, can give you a dull ache, or can be pretty minor. You could also feel a little dizzy or lightheaded. But try drinking a glass of water or two when a headache comes on and see if your pain, mood, and concentration improve.
6. When you can’t retain information
If you’re sitting in a meeting or attending a training and just can’t seem to grasp key concepts, it could be because you need water.
Learning new information can be a lot more challenging when you’re dehydrated. The electrolytes your brain needs to function properly get in the way of all the things required for retaining information, including concentration, memory, and alertness. Your mental strain can increase, your attention span can decrease, and your short-term memory can decline.
This is why it’s so important to drink water when you really need to learn and process information at work.
7. When you feel too hot or cold
Hydration is also important for regulating and balancing your body temperature throughout the day. If you feel too hot or cold, and conditions around you are otherwise pretty mild, you could be dehydrated.
This can lead to overheating, feeling extra cold, or getting chills. You could have a mix of symptoms that feel like you’re sick, going back from feeling feverish to having cold hands and feet. When you don’t get enough water, you don’t have all the fluid your body needs to sweat properly and cool down.
8. When you’re really hungry
Sometimes the signals our bodies send us get misinterpreted. A common one is thinking we’re hungry when we’re really just thirsty.
The science behind it is that the liver needs enough water to do its job in producing glycogen, which is a key source of energy. When this doesn’t happen properly, you can feel more tired and hungry because your body needs that energy.
So, when you’re feeling extra hungry, make sure you’re also hydrating with water, and try to eat foods that hydrate you, like fruits and vegetables.
How much water should you actually drink?
Staying hydrated is a must for a great workday: the proof is in the pudding. But it’s hard to know exactly how much you need with all the differing information out there. Do you really need to drink eight glasses, as the age-old recommendation goes, or does that include water you get from food? Should you try to refill your Stanley cup at least three times throughout the day?
Takeaways from the experts: Women need about 11.4 cups of fluid per day, and men need about 15.6. Of this intake, you’ll get about 20 percent from what you eat and 80 percent from water and other drinks. That’s about 9 cups of actual fluid for women, so account for water and anything else you might be drinking. Eating a healthy diet rich in fruits and vegetables helps your body regulate fluids and stay hydrated, on top of drinking plenty of water.
Some pro tips:
- Drink water when you feel thirsty and when you notice yourself showing the above behavior signals.
- Have water handy throughout the day so you’ll remember to drink it.
- Remember, you’ll need more depending on how much you exercise, whether you’re pregnant or breastfeeding, and whether it’s hot outside.
- Plan for more liquids than just coffee drinks–while moderate coffee consumption can contribute to hydration, it can still act as a diuretic, so water is a must.
- Alcoholic beverages generally don’t hydrate you.
With all this in mind, stay hydrated, stay focused, and stay creative.
