One of the most distressing things, experienced virtually by everyone at least once in their lifetime, is the feeling of being severely dehydrated.
Dry mouth, headaches, fatigue with that feeling of “unable to move”, can be very demoralizing. And if it happens frequently, it can lead to consequences far more deleterious than previously thought.
Despite discussions around dehydration, signs and symptoms of the same can hide in plain sight. Our sedentary lifestyle such as being stuck around devices has a lot to blame. When you are active, and outside, you tend to drink more fluids and stay hydrated. But that changes when you are stuck in an air-conditioned room, staring at your screen.
Dehydration begins and eventually worsens in some individuals that are constantly dehydrated because they wait to hydrate until the last minute.
Absolutely! In many ways you can think of.
Dehydration commonly causes low blood pressure. Why? Because blood pressure is determined, to a large extent, by blood volume. When you are dehydrated, your blood pressure generally falls as your blood volume is low. Individuals can be dehydrated by a liter of fluid and still not know much about it.
Blood volume is determined by both, the plasma (the liquid part) as well as the cellular components. If people have low red cell counts or are anemic (due to bleeding), the cellular fraction runs low leading to a low blood volume and a low blood pressure.
Similarly, when people lose a lot of fluid from the body, e.g. during a dehydrated state, the blood volume falls, and so does the blood pressure. Thus, dehydration can directly lower your blood pressure by its effects on “volume”.
Now this is controversial. Because, generally speaking, a low blood volume from dehydration leads to a lower blood pressure. However, there are individuals who show signs of long-term dehydration and these individuals can have adaptive mechanisms that can lead to paradoxically higher blood pressures. Although rare, this has been seen in clinical settings.
And to support this, those individuals who get dehydrated and have high blood pressure readings, can improve their blood pressure by rehydrating quickly, with water or electrolyte drinks. Thus, improving your hydration can lower blood pressure in some individuals.
The human body has developed some protective resources to prevent us from the dangers of dehydration. When you are not able to drink water (imagine being under the sun or in a desert), the kidney secretes a chemical called renin. This causes a few things- it stimulates a hormone called aldosterone from the adrenal gland which eventually causes salt absorption from the kidney cells. It also stimulates vasopressin, the hormone that causes water reabsorption making your urine dark. Renin then stimulates angiotensin, a hormone that constricts your blood vessels and maintains your blood pressure higher even in a dehydrated state.
In some individuals who get dehydrated constantly, these hormonal mechanisms are “turned on” constantly. The constant activation of these leads to a higher blood pressure in some individuals even though they are dehydrated.
This way, being dehydrated for a prolonged period of time can lead to a higher blood pressure. These individuals typically drink very little amount of liquids on a daily basis.
Dehydration can directly affect your heart rate- typically, getting dehydrated elevates your heart rate. This is called sinus tachycardia and is a normal protective response of your body to a dehydrated state. When your blood volume runs low, the heart beats faster to provide the output that your body needs.
Dehydration generally does not lead to a low heart rate in healthy individuals. Low heart rate during dehydration may be a sign of a rhythm disturbance and must be investigated by a medical professional.
Normally, as a person hydrates rapidly, especially with electrolyte water, the heart rate can decrease back to baseline.
Dehydration is common, and as the body loses water, the body’s adaptive mechanisms spring into action. The heart rate jumps, hormones are released from the system to conserve every bit of salt and water until the person rehydrates his/her body. These variations are common with dehydration and fluctuations in blood pressure are commonly seen in dehydration.
One way to avoid rapid changes in your hydration status is by staying hydrated with the right electrolyte mix. MAGNAK®, by virtue of its electrolyte formulation, can prevent dehydration by rapidly hydrating you, so you can focus more on your health. Learn more about MAGNAK® and try our electrolyte powder today!
