Did you know that around 70% of your body is made up of water? That’s why it’s so important we drink enough of it.

Staying well-hydrated is essential for good health and plays a particularly important role in our circulatory system.

Why is good hydration essential for healthy circulation?

There’s a good reason water is described as the source of life - every cell in our body needs it to work efficiently, and proper hydration is essential for a healthy heart and circulation.

Your heart is constantly working - it beats an average of 72 times each minute and pumps almost 8,000 litres of blood every day. Staying well-hydrated helps your heart do its job more easily.

Dehydration happens when you lose more fluids than your body takes in.

As blood is around 90% water, the loss of fluid through dehydration makes it thicker and blood volume decreases. The heart beats faster to compensate and works harder to push blood around the body. All this puts a strain on the heart.

How else does dehydration affect my health?

Severe dehydration can be life-threatening, but research shows that being even a little dehydrated can affect wellbeing.

As well as placing a strain on the heart, dehydration can impact your blood pressure, causing it to both plunge and skyrocket. Decreased volumes of blood can initially result in low blood pressure, simply because there’s less blood in the vessels.

But dehydration also causes sodium levels in the blood to rise, and your body responds by releasing a hormone called vasopressin, to help your body retain more water. Vasopressin causes blood vessels to constrict, which can cause your blood pressure to spike.

Signs of dehydration

Our thirst mechanism lags behind hydration levels, so by the time you experience the early signs, the chances are you’re already dehydrated. Early signs of dehydration include:

Feeling thirsty
Dark yellow urine
Urinating less often than usual
Feeling dizzy or lightheaded
Tiredness
Dry mouth, lips and tongue
Headache

Dehydration can happen more easily if you have diabetes, have been ill, or take medicines that make you urinate more (diuretics).

Stay hydrated for healthy circulation

References

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