Dehydrated While You Sleep?

Could your nighttime sleep be affected by your daytime hydration?  It’s possible.

Drinking water is essential to your overall health.  After all, our bodies are made up of 60% water.  Water is essential for our survival; it regulates body temperature, lubricates joints, acts as a shock absorber, assists in flushing out toxins, and so much more.  Did you know that water is a vital part of getting a good night's sleep too?

When we sleep, our bodies are recovering, processing long and short term memories, fighting illnesses, releasing hormones, and so much more.  Why we sleep is still being studied today, but we know that a lot of important things happen when we sleep.  It is vital to everyday functioning.

Your hydration level when you go to bed has a direct impact on the restfulness of your sleep.  A hormone called vasopressin is secreted while we sleep to prevent dehydration by increasing the amount of absorption in the kidneys.  This important hormone is responsible for keeping us from dehydrating when we go eight hours without a drink.  When you’re dehydrated in your sleep you may experience excessive thirst in the mornings, headaches, dry mouth, muscle cramping, and more.  

This is a good time of year to take a look at your sleep quality when it comes to hydration levels before bed.  The winter months can contribute to dehydration as the air around us becomes drier so it’s important to be aware that even the act of breathing in your sleep means you’re losing water.  

How much water should I be drinking?

That’s the million dollar question for everyone.  The average person should be drinking around half their body weight in ounces of water a day.  If you find that you’re sweating more because of exercise or an illness (such as diarrhea or vomiting) then you will need to replace that lost fluid and may need to drink more than usual.  

For someone with dysautonomia you should be drinking about 80 ounces of water a day, but the trick is that sodium intake also needs to be increased to manage symptoms of their chronic illness.  

How can I prevent dehydration in my sleep?

Ensuring that you’re well hydrated through the day is key to getting a good night of sleep.  There’s lots of ways to make sure you’re staying hydrated.  The best way is to simply look at your urine.  Your urine should be a light lemonade color throughout the day.  If you’re feeling fatigued, have some brain fog, or a dry mouth you should get a glass of water.

NormaLyte was created to hydrate you more efficiently than with water alone.  We use the World Health Organizations perfect recipe for rehydration.  Consider mixing a stick with water to replenish your electrolytes.  Normalyte’s pure flavorless oral rehydration salt was designed for people with dysautonomia and POTS.  What’s more, many people have said that drinking one before bed has helped manage their symptoms and help them get a more restful and hydrated sleep.