Symptoms of Dehydration You Should Be Aware Of

Thirst is obviously the most notable symptom that we need to take on water. Thirst usually occurs when we are at about 2% dehydrated; meaning we don’t need to gulp down water immediately, but we should be thinking about drinking some water soon.

Not listening to your body’s signals will lead you to become more dehydrated, but what are the other symptoms we should be looking out for that indicate dehydration may be setting in:

Dry Mouth

Your body will start to preserve water as it becomes dehydrated. The first way it does this is to produce less saliva than usual. You will notice your saliva becoming more viscous and you may be suffering from bad breath caused by dry mouth.

Dark Urine

The more water you have in your body the clearer your urine will be. Therefore, the more dehydrated you are, the darker your urine will become.

Not Urinating

If you are seriously dehydrated, you may notice that you haven’t urinated in a long time. Water helps remove waste from your blood via your urine. If your kidneys aren’t getting enough water to transport that waste, then that waste will stay in the body. Chronic dehydration can lead to kidney stones over time as concentrated urine causes waste minerals to stick together.

Noticing your skin is drier than usual should have you reaching for a drink of water before the bottle of moisturiser. Your skin is an organ like any other that needs the right amount of water to function; without it, it will start to dry up.

Low Blood Pressure

More than half of our blood is made up of plasma; made up of water, protein and salt. Without enough water the blood becomes more concentrated, making it more difficult for it to flow around the body.

Make sure you are listening to your body and taking on enough water, especially at running events where you are losing much more water than usual.