You need to drink more than you think

WHEN it comes to hydration, there is a distinct difference between our bodies and brains. The body is 60% water, the brain almost 80% — and water is involved in every chemical reaction that takes place there.

Brain cells need a delicate balance of water and other elements such as minerals and salts to work efficiently.

Water also plays a structural role, filling the spaces between brain cells, and helps to form proteins, absorb nutrients, and eliminate waste products.

Drinking eight to ten glasses a day can boost your brain’s performance by almost 30%, while dehydration is surprisingly dangerous to our brain. Even a 3% decrease in water intake will almost instantly affect the brain’s fluid balance, and can cause fatigue, brain fog, headaches and mood swings.

Dehydration has also been shown to accelerate the brain shrinkage that occurs with ageing and dementia.

And, for reasons that are still unclear, there’s a catch-22, in that ageing alters thirst responses — older people may not feel the need to drink as much, making them more vulnerable to fluid imbalance in their brains. This, in turn, may contribute to cognitive decline and neurological disorders such as Alzheimer’s.

Drinking more water and eating water-rich foods (we can get up to 20% of our fluid intake from fruit and vegetables such as cucumber, melon, peaches and celery) could be one of the healthiest changes you make in terms of enhancing your immediate and long-term cognitive power.

However, not all water is equal. The longevity and well-being of your brain is dependent upon your consumption of ‘hard water’ — plain water that is high in minerals, such as calcium and magnesium.

Hard water is not difficult to find — the majority of homes in Ireland have hard water. However, many people choose to drink bottled spring water.

This comes from rain and snow naturally filtered through layers of rock where it picks up valuable minerals, salts and sulphur compounds.