How Dehydration Makes You Perform Worse

While drinking enough water may be a habit most Brits struggle with, the simple truth is dehydration makes you perform worse. 

In our workplaces, we’re required to give our best possible focus and attention to our work, but this can be stifled by poor hydration. 

Water is a vital source for our bodies to remain healthy and nourished. When our body is scarce of water the rest of our lives can also feel out of sync. This includes our work. 

Skipping a couple of glasses of water is not just bad for your health, let us reveal to you how it also damages your work. 

Dehydration Affects Productivity 

Studies have shown that just 1% of dehydration can decrease your productivity by 12%. The more dehydrated you become the bigger the drop in productivity. Being 3-4% dehydrated can make you perform worse by 25-50%. 

Even in these small percentages, you can begin to feel like your concentration is wavering, and that you have much slower reaction times. You may even feel lethargic and low in energy. 

Research has also revealed how drinking water regularly can enhance our performance. In a study of adult students, those who drank water achieved better results than those who did not drink water.  

This suggests that drinking water supports our cognitive functions enabling us to perform better. 

Dehydration Affects Mental Capacity 

Dehydration can make you perform worse by not providing your brain the capability to withhold information. 

Our brains are about 70% water, which means we need plenty of water to support our brain’s ability to function to its full capacity. 

Dehydration can affect brain function in a mild form. For example not being able to take in new information or remember things. However, severe dehydration can also impact short-term memory and the ability to process visual information. 

Even the slightest lack of water can affect the brain’s physical performance to do even the smallest of tasks. 

Prolonged dehydration throughout the day will also cause symptoms of headaches. 

More dramatically, dehydration can impair your performance to the same level as someone who has alcohol in their blood. A study by Loughborough University found that if your dehydration reaches 3% or more you may be impaired to the same level as someone who has a blood-alcohol level above the legal driving limit. 

Drinking lots of water at work improves cognition and mental performance. This helps combat tiredness and fatigue, all of which can enhance workplace productivity.