There are many discussions about mental health and there is one particular aspect which is essential for your wellbeing - hydration. There are so many sides to hydration which a lot people shy away from learning about. We want to link how hydration can affect people's mental health and how keeping hydrated, especially during tougher times such as the Covid-19 pandemic, will be of great help to you and your body.

Staying Active

As many of you already know staying active is a way of releasing endorphins which makes you feel happier, improving your mental health. Staying active is important especially in isolation, using the one hour a day you have to go outside and do some exercise. It is difficult to stay motivated during lockdown but setting a routine and doing exercise creates a structure to the day. This helps construct a new sense of normal which many of us need right now. The reason we are saying this is because when you feel drowsy and down there tends to be a reason, which is normally dehydration. That's what dehydration feels like! It's also why you feel tired the next day after a few drinks. Although you are more likely to feel dehydrated when you exercise as you sweat more. When you sweat you become more dehydrated and you loose electrolytes, which can cause other problems to your mental and physical health.

 

You may be thinking you don't need to know anything about electrolytes? Well think again! Electrolytes and important minerals leave your body whenever you sweat which is whenever you exercise intensely or just in everyday life. When you sweat you loose certain electrolytes such as calcium, sodium, magnesium, potassium and chloride, which are important and can give you certain deficiency's, which can affect your physical and mental health. Just some of the symptoms include mental confusion, muscle cramps, loss of appetite and nausea. Considering the amount of anxiety in the world at the moment it is fair to say you would not want any of these symptoms especially whilst trying to improve your mental health!

 

Factors that increase the chances of sweat:

Size – people who are larger tend to sweat more loosing more electrolytes and important minerals. This means they become more susceptible to dehydration and need more fluids. Men are more likely to sweat more than women.

Fitness – People with a higher level of fitness sweat more because their bodies understand they need to cool down during the workout.

Environment – If it is warmer you will sweat more.

Exercise intensity - The longer you exercise for and the higher the intensity of the workout is the more you will sweat.

How to keep hydrated – i.e. how not to lose electrolytes!

No one wants to feel horrible after exercising! What’s the point in being active when it's going to decrease your mental health? This doesn't have to be the case as you can have drinks after you've exercised that gives you electrolytes and minerals. There are many ways to do this. Water is efficient to a certain extent although it is difficult to know how much water you need. If you're over hydrated or dehydrated this can dilute electrolytes. After you have a deficiency in electrolytes you want to get them back as fast as possible to maintain full health. Certain drinks can add a real benefit after working-out as they have electrolytes and minerals in. This can get you back to the same level of hydration and health you were before.

 

How to Re-hydrate

Water – This is a good basic way to keep hydrated and it’s better after a less intensive workout.

Hydration drinks - A great way to feel replenished after intensive workouts are hydration drinks. Most come either with too much sugar or are loaded with artificial preservatives. The best ones (not many of them around that we have seen!) are sugar free and contain zero artificial sweetener whilst also replenishing electrolytes....which ViDrate is exactly!! We help replenish electrolytes, contain stevia (a natural sweetener) and vitamin B12 and C.

 

How to keep hydrated around the house

You probably see this title and think 'of course I know how to keep hydrated around the house'? You may think you are consisted hydrated however a recent study showed less than 1% of 30,000 people surveyed drink 6-8 glasses of water a day. This again can either be combated with hydration drinks and water. Being inside the house all day can be draining mentally which is why keeping active and hydrated is so important.  If you want to look more into this subject we have linked a blog about top ten tips to stay hydrated.

What are your thoughts on Mental Health and how best to stay Hydrated? Let us know!