How Water Affects Your Memory

While you can go for weeks without any food, just a couple of days without water would spell death even for Gandhi.  Our bodies consist of roughly 60 percent water; our brains, about 75 percent water.

The brain needs enough water to function properly, otherwise the brain will dry out (also know as dehydration).  The more subtle and initial stages of dehydration are a scratchy throat, light-headedness, and thirst.  This results in short-term memory problems and difficulty in paying attention.

The average adult needs about 1 ½ liters of water per day, with this minimum demand obviously increasing on hot days or during strenuous exercise.  If we neglect our brain and bodies this minimum quota, our brain begins to function below optimum levels – making simple tasks, such as recalling something from our short-term memory, an unbelievable feat.

Also keep in mind that many of the beverages found in the average adults’ diet are diuretics, meaning they make you urinate, causing further dehydration.  Coffee, teas, beer, wine, and spirits actually do more harm than good.  While one would assume that they are liquefying their body with one of the aforementioned beverages, they are actually dehydrating themselves.

Some people are reluctant to drink ample amounts of water throughout the day because of the blandness in taste.  If you are one of these people, coconut juice has been found in recent studies to actually be a better hydrator than water.  Coconut juice is made up of 95 percent water, and is a considerable source of calcium oxide, nitrogen, and iron.