Most people wouldn’t connect the dots between water and fatigue. And I can’t blame them…the body is complicated! So here’s a (hopefully) simplified way for you to understand the connection:
Blood runs throughout your body via a network of veins and vessels and capillaries. This blood also carries oxygen, water and nutrients to the trillions of cells in your body, fuelling them with the tools they need to do their jobs and keep you healthy.
Your heart is the pump that moves your blood through this network.
Now imagine 2 scenarios:
Scenario 1: Your blood is as thick and heavy as paint. Consider this to be dehydrated blood. Your heart has to use tremendous energy to pump this heavy, dehydrated blood all throughout your body via your tiny, little veins and vessels.
The result? Feeling tired…
Scenario 2: Your blood has been lightened up with paint thinner (aka ‘water’). This lighter blood can flow much more easily throughout the veins, making it easier for the heart to do its job. The heart has less work to do because it’s much easier to pump a lighter version of your blood through the body than a thicker, heavier one. The result is easier work for the heart. And we’d all agree that less work = less fatigue.
The bottom line is that when your body is dehydrated, the workload of the heart and cardiovascular system is drastically increased. Your heart rate increases because pumping thick blood is more difficult. The result is premature fatigue. And who wants to be prematurely fatigued?! This extra strain is a disadvantage to anyone including those trying to exercise (for weight loss, sport or fun), since the goal is to enable the heart to send as much oxygen to working muscles at the lowest heart rate possible.
So get your water in every single day, regardless of the weather, and if you need a challenge to kickstart your road to hydration, start your day with at least 2 glasses of water before breakfast!
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