Need a drink?
Either your brain or your body should be in trouble, because one of them isn't doing their job if you don't know you're thirsty.
Or, the problem could lie somewhere in the middle.
A lot of interest in the topic was sparked by a heat wave that hit France a few years back. A staggering 14,000 people died during it—and most of them were older. The cause was a lack of something that a lot of us take for granted: water.
Researchers are trying to figure out if older people's bodies aren't doing the signaling, or if their brains aren't doing the interpreting. This is particularly a problem during those heat waves (although most of us are having the exact opposite right now) when a lot of elderly folks become severely dehydrated.
One recent study gathered 10 younger men with an average age of 24, and 12 older men with an average age of 68. They were given an injection of a saline solution that would make them thirsty, and then access to as much water as they cared to drink.
You'd think there would be no holds barred with an injection of saline solution in them, and they'd be gulping down the water!
Such was not the case. The older men were found to drink less water. Meanwhile, PET scans showed that their brains were registering that thirst. However, drinking just a little water causes that thirst-registering portion of the older brain to calm down its need. So the brain is registering satiety, but the body is not.
The researchers explain that it's possible the body is sending weaker signals of thirst. An example provided was weaker stomach muscles, providing less sensory input that registers appropriate amounts of food and water.
Don't wait for a heat wave. Your best bet—and this is true all year-round—is to drink water regularly throughout the day. One wise saying is if you wait to drink a glass of water when you're thirsty, you're a little late: you're already dehydrated.
Aim for 64 ounces of water per day—that's half a gallon. But that's just a suggested guideline. You may need more—in the hot weather, for example. If you eat a lot of water-rich, energizing fruits, vegetables or cooked whole grains, you'll need less water. One tip: If you're only drinking liquids with meals, you're probably not getting enough. Experiment. You might surprise yourself with how much more energy you have by drinking more water in between meals. I recommend keeping a water-filtering pitcher in your refrigerator. It'll be there, cold and waiting for you, and you'll also know that any impurities have already been filtered out. Better yet, invest in a reverse osmosis water filter, or what I've chosen to use in my own home, a Wellness Water Filter (www.wellnessfilter.com), which replaces valuable acid-buffering trace minerals such as potassium, magnesium and calcium back into the water.
If you're concerned about running (or hobbling) to the bathroom all night, then cut off the water drinking by around 6 p.m. or so. That way, you won't feel uncomfortable and suffer from lack of sleep—certainly not a healthy alternative.
