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Welcome to the Train Your Brain Podcast episode number 166. Hydration is critical to support nerve conduction and brain and body function. It has become so common, across all different disciplines of health to assert the importance of hydration, and yet the vast majority of people are still under hydrated. When clients ask, Dr. Trayford recommends drinking half your weight in ounces each day. And, remember this should be water, not just any beverage. Thanks for listening!
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If you have any concerns regarding the information and applications discussed in this podcast, please consult your physician and a doctor who is experienced in functional neurology. Michael Trayford DC, DACNB is available for consultation by calling (828) 708-5274. Thanks for listening.
This tip is pretty simple. Our bodies are around 60% water content, and the brain itself is around 75% water. Hydration is absolutely critical. Even though it is brought up in many circles, yet proper hydration goes ignored or poorly addressed.
There are some people that only drink coffee in the morning and then don’t have their first glass of water until they eat lunch. Considering caffeine dehydrates you it means these people are already significantly behind where they need to be on their daily water consumption by the time they take their first sip.
It’s also worth considering that when you sleep you’re breathing out minute amounts of water vapor from your mouth and nose. You might also sweat at night under heavy covers, and that could also compound the dehydration effect.
If you’re not urinating on a fairly frequent basis, your body is dehydrated.
Hydration is important for the structures of the body and brain as well as other aspects like nerve conduction. Brain cells require an extremely delicate balance between water and electrolytes like sodium, magnesium, potassium and calcium.
Sodium is particularly important when it comes to nerve function and whether or not a nerve cell is firing. If you don’t have enough water for nerve cells to conduct information effectively, then you will start to develop issues with cognitive ability, memory, movement and other aspects of brain function.
If you don’t have proper hydration in the morning, you could be putting yourself and other people on the road at risk, or not performing at your best with all of your morning tasks at work. So morning hydration is an important thing to factor into your day.
When it comes to the amount of water you need in a day, the rule of thumb is to consume about half of your body weight in ounces per day. So if you weigh 200 pounds, you want to consume around 100 ounces of water per day.
I also emphasize that it’s water, not other beverages, with caffeine or sugars. If you’re doing more activity in that day, or you were drinking alcohol or you’ve been eating foods with high sodium content, you want to increase your water to adjust for the diuretic effects that rob water from your system.
It’s a good habit to try to keep a water bottle with you throughout the day and sip on it periodically.
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