Hydration Helps You Sleep: The Quality of Your ZZZZs Can Depend on the Quantity of Your H2O
Your well-being, health, happiness, and productivity all depend on getting a good night’s sleep, but can hydration help you sleep better? A growing body of evidence suggests that the amount and quality of sleep you get depend to a significant degree on the amount of water you drink. By staying hydrated, you give your body the resources it needs while it rests and recovers from a busy day.
The Connection Between Hydration and Helping You Sleep
People in Colorado are like most Americans that just don’t get enough sleep. Adults need seven or more hours of sleep each night but average far less than that. The reasons behind our collective sleep deficiency are many, ranging from stress to underlying psychological issues to physical problems like sleep apnea or restless leg syndrome. High altitude can also play a role in these sleep issues, causing Coloradoans to have an extra disadvantage in the sleep department.
But for some people, it comes down to dehydration. According to a study of 20,000 American and Chinese adults by researchers from Penn State University, people who slept for six or fewer hours a night were far more dehydrated than study participants who regularly slept eight hours a night.
Here’s why a lack of water can cost you hours of valuable shut-eye:
Hydration Helps You Sleep Because You Lose Water During Sleep
Even while you sleep, your body sheds water. If your bedroom or bed is too warm, you may sweat. But even if you are snug as a bug, just the act of breathing takes water out of your body. According to some estimates, we lose approximately one quart of water every night in the moisture we emit in our breath. Those who breathe through their mouth, snore, or have sleep apnea tend to lose even more water as they sleep.
Drinking a lot of alcohol in the evening or having an intense workout can also deplete your body’s water resources, possibly a big contributor for us Coloradoans who tend to be very outdoor activity-oriented and have all the amazing breweries around. If you are dehydrated when you go to bed, you will be even more so by the time you wake up.
Dehydration Can Disrupt Sleep Patterns
A lack of sufficient hydration can dry out your mouth and nasal passages, making you more likely to snore or awaken prematurely to a bone-dry mouth and sore throat. And if your lack of water causes you to snore, you’re not doing your partner any favors in the sleep department either. Dehydration can also lead to painful and disruptive cramps, especially in the legs. If you have ever experienced such cramps, sometimes called a charley horse, you know exactly how jarring they can be and how hard it can be to go back to sleep.
Frequently waking up in the middle of the night because of hydration-related problems deprives you of deep, restorative REM sleep. A lack of such rest can leave you sluggish and dramatically affect your cognitive performance in ways that caffeine or energy drinks simply cannot fix.
How to Get Enough Hydration to Help You Sleep Better
If you try to make up for a lack of water throughout the day by chugging a whole bunch right before you go to bed, the frequent and inevitable trips you take to the bathroom during the night won’t help you get the quality zzz’s you need. Avoiding nightly bathroom breaks is why it’s critical to stay hydrated consistently throughout the day.
Men need approximately 125 ounces of water each day, while women should aim for 91 ounces. Each person is different, however, and your age, weight, activity level, and physical condition all play a role in how much water you should be drinking.
Most of us spend the better part of our days at work, which means that getting sufficient hydration can depend on having convenient access to pure, great-tasting drinking water in the workplace.
Businesses can keep their workforce hydrated by purchasing or renting a bottled water cooler or filtered water dispenser from an experienced, local, and committed water delivery service.
Clearly Colorado Can Help You Keep Your Employees Hydrated and Well-Rested
At Clearly Colorado, we know how critical hydration is for Colorado workers, and we understand that hydration can help workers sleep better so they can be more productive and engaged. We are committed to delivering the purest, highest quality water available on the Colorado Front Range. We are passionate about customer service and have a well-earned reputation for dependability, consistency, and trustworthiness.
To find out more about how we can help you help your Colorado Springs workforce stay healthy, hydrated, and well-rested, please contact us for a free water delivery quote.
Read More on Hydration Benefits
Benefits of Staying Hydrated at Work
What Everybody Ought to Know About Drinking Purified Water
Work from Home? Why You Need a Hot and Cold 5-Gallon Bottled Water Dispenser
