Do you feel tired, suddenly sleepy in the afternoon, light-headed and unable to concentrate, or just not in the mood to begin with?
As a result of such ailments, do you have trouble getting any work done at all?
I think many office workers have experienced this.
When we are not feeling well at work, we tend to think that it is because we did not get enough sleep, or because we drank late yesterday, or because it is the end of a vacation, or because it is Friday, etc. In fact, the cause may lie somewhere else.
What we should pay attention to as a cause of various physical ailments is “lack of water.
This article will focus on the negative effects of water deficiency on work.
Water is essential to the human body
Human beings and water are inseparably linked. In fact, about 70% of the human body is made up of water, which means that for a person weighing 60 kg, about 42 kg is water.
Water in the body, as the main component of blood, carries nutrients and oxygen throughout the body and plays a role in collecting waste products from the body.
Water also plays an important role in eliminating waste products in the form of urine and in regulating body temperature through perspiration.
Thus, water is essential for us to maintain our daily lives.
Lack of water makes it difficult to concentrate
So what are the effects of water loss from the human body?
First, even a loss of about 2% of body weight in water can cause discomfort, such as thirst and loss of appetite. At this point, concentration and memory are considered to be impaired.
Then, at 5% loss, symptoms of dehydration and heat stroke appear, and at 10%, muscle cramps, circulatory failure, and kidney failure occur. Further dehydration leads to loss of consciousness, and 20% loss leads to death.
Taking a person weighing 60 kg as an example, 2% water content is 1.2 L. Considering that 1.6 L of water is discharged daily through stool and urine, and about 0.9 L through sweat, etc., it is easily possible to lose 2% water.
If you work in the same condition, it is obvious that your work efficiency will decrease, mistakes will increase, and productivity will decrease.
When you are unable to concentrate or perform well at work, one of the reasons may be a lack of water.
Hydration aids brain function!
While we now know that lack of water leads to poor concentration and productivity, there are research studies that show the opposite: that hydration helps the brain to be more active.
A study conducted by the University of East London and the University of Westminster in the UK found that “people who drank 0.5L of water before concentrating on intellectual work had a 14% faster reaction time than those who did not drink.
This means that hydration has a positive effect on human intellectual performance.
Given that 80% of the brain is water, it is not surprising that hydration helps brain function.
Drink 1.2L of water frequently per day!
So how much water should we drink to maintain and improve our concentration and productivity at work?
The amount of water we lose each day is about 2.5 liters when we are not doing any physical work and our activity level is low.
To maintain water balance in the body, we need to take in the same amount of water as we lose.
However, it is not necessary to drink 2.5 L of water per day.
In addition to drinking water, people also replenish about 1.0L of water from food in their daily lives. In addition, there is about 0.3L of water per day that is produced as the body repeatedly metabolizes water.
In other words, 1.2L (2.5L – 0.3L – 1.0L) is what we need to replenish by drinking water per day.
The key to hydration is to drink frequently even if we do not feel “thirsty. When we feel thirsty, we have already lost a lot of water.
Therefore, we should try to hydrate frequently before we feel thirsty. The Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare’s “Drink Water for Your Health” campaign also promotes the slogan, “Drink More Often, Drink Quickly.
Be aware of water shortage even while working at a desk
When we think of water shortage or dehydration, we tend to imagine a situation where we sweat during exercise or on a hot day, but in reality, the body loses water even without sweating.
In addition to the discharge through feces and urine mentioned earlier, the body loses about 0.9L of water per day through breathing, perspiration, and water evaporating from the skin to regulate body temperature.
In other words, even when we are sitting at work in an office, we are gradually losing water.
Therefore, if you are not properly hydrated, you may suffer from water deficiency even while working at your desk.
This is especially true when working alone. Unlike working in an office with other people around, it is difficult to manage work hours and it is easy to work long hours.
It is also possible that you may be so focused on your work that you neglect to drink enough water.
Again, hydration based on the slogan, “Drink early and drink often,” will help prevent water deprivation, maintain concentration, and improve productivity.
Hydrate to Achieve Results
As we have discussed, proper hydration leads to improved concentration and productivity.
Hydration that also refreshes you is an effective self-care technique.
You can start by always being aware of the environment in which you can easily stay hydrated, such as keeping a water bottle next to your desk or a water server in an easily accessible location.
