The human body consists of 50% to 70% water, making it an essential component for our bodies to function properly. But does drinking water help you sleep? Research shows that there is a connection between drinking water and sleep — staying hydrated can help you sleep more soundly and also improve your overall health.
Learn more about how our bodies lose water during sleep, the benefits of drinking water before bed, how to overcome waking up with headaches, and why staying hydrated all day helps ease us into sleep at night.
How Drinking Water and Sleep are Connected?
Typically, we think of our bodies as losing water through sweat and urination, but we actually lose water through breathing as well. This means that during the night, although we’re asleep, we’re still losing water—and not replacing it. While excessive water intake may increase urination at night, which can disrupt sleep, drinking a glass of water before can help us wake up less dehydrated and prevent waking up with headaches.
Drinking water and sleep are certainly intertwined. Some other ways we lose water during sleep include:
Because our bodies use water when breathing, people who breathe with their mouth open during sleep and those with sleep apnea tend to lose more water during the night. Snoring increases the effort your body uses to breathe as the airways are partially obstructing which causes you to breathe more rapidly and with greater force.
While asleep, you may not even be aware that your environment is making you sweat. But your body is—and that extra perspiration means extra fluid loss.
Our schedules or preferences may lead some of us to exercise later in the evening. If you’re working out close to the time you go to sleep, you may not have time to properly rehydrate before you hit the hay. Once you’re asleep, you may not be able to “listen” to your body’s natural thirst response, causing you to wake up dehydrated.
For women in menopause or a specific period during the menstruation cycle, it can be more difficult to stay hydrated. The hormone estrogen is linked to the body’s ability to retain fluids, during both day and night.
Additionally, women going through menopause are likely to lose water, making it difficult to maintain proper hydration. Night sweats, severe hot flashes that can drench your pajamas and sheets, can increase the amount of water you lose during sleep.
Certain categories of medications are associated with dehydration at night, including antidepressants, antihistamines, as well as various blood pressure and heart disease medicines.
How does drinking water help you sleep?
According to a study published by Penn State, adults who regularly slept six hours or less per night were 16% to 59% more likely to be dehydrated than those who got eight or more hours of sleep.
Researchers believe a hormone known as vasopressin, which aids in fluid balance regulation, may be the link between sleep and hydration. Vasopressin is released during both day and night, but it’s known to increase during sleep.
In particular, more vasopressin is released during the late stages of our sleep cycle. If you aren’t getting those last few previous hours of sleep, your body’s fluid balance may be disrupted, making it more likely that you’re dehydrated.
While getting the proper amount of sleep each night can help overcome this problem, hydrating throughout the day and before bed can further improve the quality of your sleep because drinking water and sleep are connected.
Benefits of drinking water before bed
Stay hydrated throughout the day and have one glass of water right before bed. Keeping a glass of water or a reusable water bottle on your night stand can also help you rehydrate if you wake up with a dry mouth or feeling thirsty.
In addition to preparing our body for the fluids it will lose during sleep, drinking water before we go to bed has several key benefits that not only improve sleep quality, but how we feel when we wake up. If you find yourself routinely waking up with headaches, having water before bed can mitigate this pesky symptom.
Water aids in many essential body functions, including temperature regulation. Research shows that our core body temperature can be a key factor in inducing sleepiness. When we go to bed hydrated, our core temperature is better regulated, and we are more likely to feel sleepy.
Drinking water before bed can have an enormous effect on our mood and energy level. Studies have shown that people who drink more water can feel more positive emotions when they awoke from sleep. Not only did participants report being more calm, they also felt less fatigue, confusion, thirst, and tended to be less sleepy after waking.
Many people complain about waking up with headaches. Not only is it uncomfortable, but it can start your day off on the wrong foot. For busy, active people, waking up feeling good helps set the tone of the day. To avoid morning headaches, drink plenty of water before bed and keep a water bottle next to you at night. For those who get headaches at night, it can make falling asleep difficult and lead to restless nights. Hydrating throughout the day can diminish the chance of nighttime headaches.
It’s clear that there is a connection between drinking water and sleep. Without the right level of hydration, your sleep quality will suffer which impacts your entire day from your ability to concentrate to your overall mood.
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