Did you experience difficulty sleeping last night and now you are feeling worse accompanied by fatigue, poor memory, daytime sleepiness, clumsiness, tiredness and mood swings? Don't let your bad night negatively affect your life's quality and productivity. The United States research uncovered something that might help.
Recent study conducted shows how lack of sleep can lead to dehydration, which can greatly affect the physical and mental status of a person. This finding explains why insomniacs typically don't feel well after not having enough sleep the night before.
The research, which was held at Penn State University, was conducted by observing more than 20,000 American and Chinese adults aged 20 and above. The study's focus is the possible relation of lack of sleep to the hydration of a person. To get an accurate result, samples of the participants' urine and sleeping habits were studied and analyzed.
The results showed that participants who have insufficient sleep, about six hours or less every night, have more concentrated urine than those that are satisfied with their eight hours sleep. Similarly, it is revealed those people also have a higher tendency to become dehydrated, which about 16 to 59 percent higher as compared to the latter.
Experts say this change in the body can be blamed to a hormone called vasopressin. According to Inquirer, this hormone is the one that is responsible for regulating the water content of the body. Sleeping insufficiently may alter the normal release of this hormone, which negatively affects the body.
"Vasopressin is released both more quickly and later on in the sleep cycle," said Asher Rosinger, the lead author of the study. He also added that by "waking up earlier, you might miss that window in which more of the hormone is released, causing a disruption in the body's hydration."
With this revelation, Bustle advises insomniacs to drink water instead of coffee after a "bad night's sleep." Since dehydration can make one person feel worse, the caffeine present in the coffee won't help improve the day. The drug might give someone a boost to start the day, but eventually, things won't make any better. It can also make insomnia worse.
Dehydration can pose risks to someone's health. So, it is crucial to stand against it. To fight dehydration, health authorities suggest about 64 ounces of water must be consumed by a person for the body to function properly. That is about 2 liters or 8 medium sized glasses every day.
