Overview
Humans can only survive a few days without water, making it one of, if not the most, essential element of life, shortly followed by sleep.1
Your body will lose water each day, either through urination or via the skin and respiratory system, by a process termed insensible fluid loss.2 A considerably large amount of water loss occurs during sleep, and as we don’t usually drink water while sleeping, a slight imbalance occurs, which explains why you may weigh slightly less first thing in the morning.3
While asleep, however, your body produces excess amounts of vasopressin, a hormone that regulates water reabsorption by the kidneys and maintains homeostasis.4
If your sleep is cut short for any reason, be it a sleeping disorder or an unhealthy sleep habit, the natural process of vasopressin release is disrupted, possibly leading to dehydration.5 Likewise, dehydration throughout the day can also promote bad sleep, so we’re here to emphasize the necessity of adequate hydration to help improve your night’s rest.6
How Hydration Affects Sleep
We’re all aware of the consequences of overhydrating, which result in recurrent awakening throughout the night that warrant a rush to the bathroom, but are we aware of the benefits of hydration for sleep? A delicate balance must be met when considering hydration in your sleep. Here are three ways proper hydration while sleeping can benefit you.
1) Regulating Body Temperature
Water helps dissipate heat from the body and maintains a comfortable temperature for sleeping.7 Not drinking enough water can also make you feel thirsty during your sleep, which may cause you to wake to quench your thirst.
2) Supporting Brain Function
Water is necessary for many essential body functions, including keeping your brain function up to scratch.8 Dehydration can impair these essential brain functions, which can go on to affect mood levels, stress, memory, and alertness, all of which can affect your sleep.6
3) Preventing Headaches
The adage whereby people tell you to drink water to help cure your headache remains unchallenged and for a good reason. The mechanism behind dehydration headaches is multi-factorial, though evidence proves that drinking enough water can prevent or reduce headache pain.9 When left untreated, headaches can cause sleep disturbances, emphasizing the necessity of drinking enough water before bed.10
Alas, as the saying goes, you can have too much of a good thing. Excess hydration can too affect your sleep through several mechanisms.
Drinking too much water before bed can lead to frequent nightly urination, which disrupts your sleep and proves to be a nuisance.11 Additionally, as your kidneys play a vital role in regulating water around your body, drinking too much water can inadvertently disrupt their natural process.
Excess water can dilute the concentration of sodium in the blood, leading to a condition called hyponatremia.12 Symptoms of hyponatremia are varied but can include confusion, headaches, and cramps, all of which can affect sleep.12
Avoiding Dehydration During Sleep: Your How-To Guide
It’s normal for your body to lose water as you sleep, but there are specific steps you can take to ensure that water loss remains at a normal level to prevent you from suffering the consequences of dehydration.
Making Sleep a Priority
Ensuring that you give your body the rest it deserves is essential in preventing dehydration and keeping all body functions in check. As we mentioned above, your body goes through specific natural processes during sleep that help regulate your body. By getting enough sleep, you allow these processes to do their thing, and as a result, you’re rewarded by an awakening that enables you to seize the day.
If you’re unsure how to better your sleep, you can check out one of our many blogs on how to adopt a good sleep hygiene routine. You can take action now by limiting your use of blue-light emitting devices before bed, setting yourself a sleep time which you strictly adhere to, and avoiding overconsuming caffeinated beverages too late in the day.
Staying Hydrated
It’s easy to get caught up with your daily activities and forget to drink your recommended amount of water. If you wake up feeling excessively thirsty, it might mean you aren’t staying adequately hydrated throughout the day. To reduce your risk of dehydration, you can try:
- Sipping Water Continuously Throughout the Day: Investing in a water bottle to keep by your side can be a reminder to keep you feeling replenished.
- Substituting Other Beverages for Water: We’re not saying avoid fun drinks entirely, but when you can, try substituting a fun drink for a glass of water to ensure your body gets the hydration it needs.
- Enhancing Your Diet: Certain foods, such as fruits and vegetables, have higher moisture content, meaning that their consumption can contribute to your total daily water intake.
Just make sure not to drink too much fluid at night, as that may provoke urination.
A Bottle a Day Keeps Sleep at Bay
Hydration and sleep are two essential human health and well-being factors that are interconnected in many ways. While yes, too much water can keep you awake at night, too little can impact your body and your sleep in other ways that can prove to be detrimental over time.
If you have concerns about dehydration or sleep disruptions, please contact your doctor at your earliest convenience. In the meantime, keep that bottle by your side like your life depends on it – because it does.
References:
- Popkin, B. M., D’Anci, K. E., & Rosenberg, I. H. (2010). Water, hydration, and health. Nutrition Reviews, 68(8), 439–458. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1753-4887.2010.00304.x
- McNeil-Masuka, J. (2022, July 25). Insensible Fluid Loss. StatPearls - NCBI Bookshelf. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK544219/
- Weissenberg, S. (n.d.). INSENSIBLE WATER LOSS DURING SLEEP: A THEORETICAL EXERCISE | Advances in Physiology Education. Advances in Physiology Education. https://journals.physiology.org/doi/full/10.1152/advan.00028.2005
- Török, B., Varga, J., & Zelena, D. (2022). Vasopressin as a Possible Link between Sleep-Disturbances and Memory Problems. International Journal of Molecular Sciences, 23(24), 15467. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms232415467
- Rosinger, A. Y., Chang, A. B., Buxton, O. M., Li, J., Wu, S., & Gao, X. (2019). Short sleep duration is associated with inadequate hydration: cross-cultural evidence from US and Chinese adults. Sleep, 42(2). https://doi.org/10.1093/sleep/zsy210
- Rosinger, A. Y., Chang, A. B., Buxton, O. M., Li, J., Wu, S., & Gao, X. (2019). Short sleep duration is associated with inadequate hydration: cross-cultural evidence from US and Chinese adults. Sleep, 42(2). https://doi.org/10.1093/sleep/zsy210
- Aristotelous, P., Aphamis, G., Sakkas, G. K., Andreou, E., Pantziaris, M., Kyprianou, T., Hadjigeorgiou, G. M., Manconi, M., & Giannaki, C. D. (2019). Effects of controlled dehydration on sleep quality and quantity: A polysomnographic study in healthy young adults. Journal of Sleep Research. https://doi.org/10.1111/jsr.12662
- Masento, N., Golightly, M., Field, D., Butler, L. T., & Van Reekum, C. M. (2014). Effects of hydration status on cognitive performance and mood. British Journal of Nutrition, 111(10), 1841–1852. https://doi.org/10.1017/s0007114513004455
- Price, A., & Burls, A. (2015). Increased water intake to reduce headache: learning from a critical appraisal. Journal of Evaluation in Clinical Practice, 21(6), 1212–1218. https://doi.org/10.1111/jep.12413
- Fernández-De-Las-Peñas, C., Fernández-Muñoz, J. J., Palacios-Ceña, M., Parás-Bravo, P., Cigarán-Méndez, M., & Navarro-Pardo, E. (2018). Sleep disturbances in tension-type headache and migraine. Therapeutic Advances in Neurological Disorders, 11, 175628561774544. https://doi.org/10.1177/1756285617745444
- Leslie, S. W. (2023, March 11). Nocturia. StatPearls - NCBI Bookshelf. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK518987/
- Joo, M. C., & Kim, E. K. (2013). Hyponatremia caused by excessive intake of water as a form of child abuse. Annals of Pediatric Endocrinology and Metabolism, 18(2), 95. https://doi.org/10.6065/apem.2013.18.2.95
