Breaking News: Sitting 8 Hours at Your Desk Is Dehydrating You

We interrupt your regular work programming with a breaking news update: that desk you’ve been sitting at since 9am is actually a major source of dehydration. What does that mean for your productivity? It ranges from foggy thinking to a whopping 12% increase in error-making. When your body is low on fluids, your mind no longer operates at its full cognitive potential. Your workday is tough enough as it is, you don’t need anything like dehydration holding you back.

Read on to understand how inaction can lead to dehydration, and the best ways to remedy that.

Dehydration is sneaky.

Our bodies don’t feel the effects of dehydration as easily as, say, a headache or backache. We can be fully dehydrated without any knowledge of it. In fact, most of us are walking around with mild to severe hydration and totally unaware, like dehydration zombies.

You usually drink liquids when you’re thirsty, but thirst alone is actually not a reliable indicator of dehydration. If you don’t feel thirsty, it doesn’t necessarily mean you aren’t dehydrated. The best indicator of hydration is the color of your urine — if it’s pale, you’re good! If not, grab some fluids and start drinking!

We often don’t think about how our bodies are losing fluid when we’re stationary. You can be doing nothing at all, and your body is still draining its fluids. Add sweating from running to catch the subway this morning, or happy hour drinks from last night, and those fluids are draining even faster. That’s why it’s important to consistently put pure fluids back in.

Coffee doesn’t count

In fact, it does just the opposite of hydrating. No judgement, we get why you reach for it when you’re coming back from a big lunch and have a 30 unread emails to get through. But trust us, hydration can do even greater wonders for your energy levels than that quick, fleeting jolt from caffeine.

3 simple ways to stay on top of your hydration at work

Happy hydrating!

Sources:

1. https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2018/07/30/632480321/off-your-mental-game-you-could-be-mildly-dehydrated
2. https://www.medicaldaily.com/75-americans-may-suffer-chronic-dehydration-according-doctors-247393
3. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2018-04-thirst-indicator-hydration.html