Your Brain On Water: How Hydration Helps With Anxiety.
Can drinking water help alleviate anxiety and mood?
Well, you’ve heard it time and time again, "you need to drink more water," but what may surprise you is that staying hydrated can help decrease anxiety and depression.
We can do lots of things to manage anxiety, but for this blog, I will share one easy remedy that is right at your fingertips. Yep, it's water!
Water helps with anxiety and mood by staying adequately hydrated throughout the day. All the systems in our human body depend on water to function, and the brain is no exception. The brain is made up of 75% of water. Even a 1% decrease can cause the brain not to function properly.
Research has linked dehydration to depression and anxiety because mental health is driven primarily by your brain’s activity. Dehydration causes brain functioning to slow down and not function properly. It is crucial to think of water as a nutrient your brain needs. Hydration helps the body to manufacture serotonin, which is a neurotransmitter that helps with mood regulation. Serotonin is a critical neurotransmitter that heavily affects your mood. Serotonin is created from the amino acid tryptophan, but sufficient water is needed. Dehydration can also negatively impact other amino acids, resulting in feelings of dejection, inadequacy, anxiety, and irritability. It helps with the manufacturing of melatonin, which helps us sleep, too.
Dehydration and anxiety
Drinking inadequate amounts of water put you at risk for increased anxiety symptoms. Dehydration causes stress, and when your body is stressed, you experience anxiety and depression as a result. Therefore, you want to ensure you are adequately hydrated daily, especially if you are naturally anxiety-prone.
Did you know that water has shown to have natural calming properties? This is because dehydration affects the body and brain. Drinking enough water is an essential step in managing your anxiety and overall health. Even if you’re not experiencing anxiety, drinking sufficient water can create feelings of relaxation. That’s pretty darn amazing!
Dehydration is the number one cause of stress in your body. It’s a self-perpetuating cycle: dehydration can cause stress, and stress can cause dehydration. When you’re stressed, your adrenal glands produce extra cortisol, the stress hormone, and your adrenal glands can become exhausted under chronic stress, resulting in lower electrolyte levels.
Symptoms That Come From Dehydration
Dehydration can trigger many sensations that can make you feel more anxious or experience a full-blown anxiety attack. How do you ask? Below is a list of things that can happen when you don't drink enough water and become hydrated.
Emotional and Mental Health Benefits of Drinking Water
Drinking water decreases the risk of depression and anxiety in adults. Research conducted by the World Journal of Psychiatry of more than 3300 individuals showed that participants who drink more water daily have reduced the risk of depression and anxiety. Participants with the lowest level of water consumption were reported to have doubled the risk of depression and anxiety.
Did You Know Dehydration Can Trigger A Panic Attack? Hydration reduces panic attack. Panic attacks are a result of high anxiety, Solara Mental Health mentioned how panic attacks usually have physical triggers, one of which is dehydration. “When dehydration occurs, if you’re prone to panic attacks,” Solara Mental Health describes, “you can easily begin to panic, even to the point of feeling like you’re dying.” Dehydration could expose you to many symptoms that trigger panic attacks, such as Increased heart rate. Headaches. Muscle fatigue and weakness. Feeling faint/lightheaded.
While keeping yourself hydrated may not stop the panic attacks, they may become less frequent.
Dehydration can cause difficulty in concentrating. A study from The Journal of Nutrition mentioned how mild dehydration can cause headaches, fatigue, and concentration difficulties.
How much water should I be drinking every day?
Your intake depends on your stress levels, weight, climate, exercise levels, etc. But a rule of thumb is to drink half your body weight in ounces of purified water daily, i.e., 140 pounds equals 70 ounces of water. Add 12 to 16 ounces of water for every caffeinated beverage.
Also, drink filtered water. Water should be filtered and not contain impurities. If consumed over the long-term, chlorine in drinking water depletes vitamin E, causing a deficiency. It also kills beneficial microbiota in the gut.
Here are some simple ways to drink water and start implementing it right away.
Set a daily goal. Setting a daily water intake goal can help you drink more water. Simply the act of setting a goal can be motivating and make you more likely to make positive changes that last.
Keep a reusable water bottle with you to refill regularly. Implementing this can help you drink more water. When you have a reusable water bottle, you can easily drink water in any setting, and serve as a visual reminder to drink more water. If you see the bottle on your desk or table, you will constantly be reminded to drink more.
Set reminders. You can also set reminders to drink more water using an app or the alarm on your smartphone or smartwatch. For example, try setting a reminder to take a few sips of water every 30 minutes, or set a reminder to finish drinking your current glass of water and refill it every hour.
Flavor your water. If you dislike the flavor of water or need a bit of flavor to help you drink more, you have many choices. Using an inexpensive fruit-infuser water bottle is one healthy option. Some favorable fruit combinations to use in an infuser bottle are cucumber-lime, lemon, and strawberry-kiwi. You can use any variety of fruits that suits your taste.
Increase consumption of foods high in water. One simple way to get more water is to eat more foods that are high in water. Fruits and vegetables are particularly high in water.
Sip throughout the day. Sipping on water consistently throughout the day is another easy way to help you meet your fluid goals.
Decrease your intake of alcohol, sugary, and caffeinated beverages. These are dehydrating.
Drink a glass of water before each meal. Get in the habit of drinking water half an hour before meals.
In Conclusion
Water is vital to life, and it is often overlooked as a stress reliever. Consuming water is such a simple wellness strategy that is often not considered when developing a personal health/mental health plan.
When you’re hydrated, your neurons “fire” easier: they communicate faster with the rest of your body. Hydration helps mood and improves feelings of high energy. When properly hydrated, your cognition may actually work faster. When you’re dehydrated, you’re more likely to get a headache and feel moody and tired. Dehydration can negatively impact short-term memory, anxiety, depression, and mental tasks, which may seem harder and require more effort.
Although keeping yourself hydrated is not a cure for anxiety, getting in the habit of drinking enough water daily will help alleviate some causes and symptoms of anxiety and mood. Look at it as a viable piece to your mental health healing plan.
Now, pour yourself a full glass of water! It’s A Simple Way to care for yourself.
Cherry Chamomile Smoothie To Help Calm Anxiety & Aid Sleep
Did you know that Cherries are a nutrient-dense fruit, has a significant amount of essential nutrients and plant compounds that boost brain health? Researchers have found that consumption of cherries has a positive impact on brain health.
Memory and cherries
As we age, our memory and the ability to remember decline. The brain’s defense against oxidative stress and inflammation reduces, which affects the functioning of the brain. Studies have shown that eating cherries may improve brain function and lower levels of inflammation. Inflammation can birth mental health decline.
Sleep, Cognition, and cherries
As we know, good quality sleep is critical to mental health, cognitive function, and it helps remove toxins that accumulate in the brain. Studies show that the consumption of cherries affects the quality and quantity of sleep. This positive effect was seen in just 3-5 days of cherry consumption. A regular intake of cherries can increase the level of melatonin in the body. Melatonin, also known as the sleep hormone, regulates the sleep-wake cycle and improves overall sleep quality.
Stress Reduction and cherries
Another excellent study notes that cherries are one of the best natural stressbusters. Eating cherry regularly can uplift mood, reduce stress hormones in the body, and induce a feeling of calmness and happiness. Mental stress can hurt cognitive function. Being in a happy and relaxed state of mind can improve cognition and the ability to think. Adding cherries to your diet can improve mental health by keeping the brain calm and healthy.
In Conclusion: Consuming cherries can protect your sleep, fight memory loss, and help anxiety-related issues. Add fresh cherries to your daily diet for a healthy mind and body. Enjoy the recipe below!
Cherry Chamomile Smoothie
This recipe can help aid sleep and is filled with healthy, natural ingredients! I am a certified Integrative Mental Health Professional and, in my training, received this recipe from Dr. Leslie Korn, and want to share it with you. Many of my clients have expressed that it helped relax them and aid sleep.
You will want to make this smoothie an hour or two before you go to sleep. Cherries and chamomile tea help promote sleep and can treat insomnia. Chamomile tea is also loaded with antioxidants and has properties that may aid in digestion, too, and have a calming effect.
Mangos, seeds, and coconut will support blood sugar throughout the night so that you can rest peacefully. Blueberries or frozen bananas make a good substitute for mangos, too, if you don’t like mangos.
Ingredients:
1 cup almond or coconut milk 1⁄2 cup
Strong, cold chamomile tea
Add: 1 cup frozen (or fresh) cherries
1 cup frozen mangos
1 tsp. flax seeds (or flaxseed oil or lemon-flavored fish oil)
1⁄2 tsp. chia seeds
1 Tbs. coconut cream or coconut oil 3 drops liquid stevia 1 drop vanilla extract (optional)
Directions:
Place all ingredients in the blender and blend until smooth. Keep a quart of strong chamomile tea in the fridge or make “chamomile tea ice cubes” to add to evening smoothies. Enjoy!
Benefits of Chamomile Tea
It can relax the nerves and soothes the nervous system
Fights harmful bacteria, and has the ability to boost your immune system
It can help prevent cold
It can soothe a stomach ache
A digestive relaxant
A gentle relaxant
Can help fade spots and eliminate acne scars
It can help relax the body and reduce stress! According to Dietician Anshul Jaibharat, "Chamomile tea is a gentle relaxant and acts as an effective natural sedative, thereby reducing stress.”
The Brain-Gut Connection
Did you know that our digestive system can disrupt our mental health, and our mental health can disrupt our digestive system? Poor digestion is often involved in mental illness and vice versa. Improving gut imbalances and nutritional status is the missing link to mental health. We have all heard the saying ‘trust your gut,’ and this is no misnomer. It comes from the understanding that embedded within the gastrointestinal system is a neural network that has functional similarities to our brain, which, in turn, can impact mood.
Why? Because our mind and body are connected. We have an entire second brain that lives in our gut. This is called the Enteric Nervous System. The Enteric Nervous System is a complex network of neurons, neurotransmitters, and proteins that live in our intestinal organs' lining. It sends messages to our brain and other nervous systems through the gut-brain axis. The Enteric Nervous System holds over 100 million nerve cells that work in this communication process.
Chronic stress > Inflammation > Depression/Anxiety > Self-medication behaviors (which in-turn will upset the balance of digestion)
As we start to feel better mentally and emotionally, we will be more inclined to improve.
Essentials For Relaxing Digestion to improve mental health
1. Relaxation & Stress Management Skills — Try on new behaviors to care for yourself. Stress management and relaxation are crucial for healthy digestion and a healthy mind. Some cool things you can consider trying on are yoga, deep breathing, getting enough sleep, mindfulness/meditation, prayer, getting out into nature, laughter, and moving your body daily.
Eat places that induce relaxation rather than places where one feels stressed.
Employ rituals such as communal eating, giving thanks. This can also reduce stress and improve digestion.
Breath slowly and rhythmically before eating and during the meal.
Eat with others when possible and without the distraction of the TV/computer.
Put the fork/spoon down between bites and let it sit for 15-30 seconds or more.
Chew food 20-40 times or until almost liquid.
Smoking, caffeine, and alcohol consumption impair digestion and affect the stress response. Reducing or eliminating these three major stress factors should be included in goal setting.
2. Food Quality — Eat the food we are meant to take in biologically; avoid the synthetic substances we can’t digest, absorb, or utilize. Removing these harmful foods from your diet and replacing them with food that will nourish your body is one part of the mood-boosting equation. Avoid food you’re sensitive to. The most common gut-disturbing foods are gluten, dairy, refined sugar, alcohol, and highly processed foods.
3. Food Preparation — How we prepare and cook our food will influence how well we digest it. Also, make your healthy snacks and meals in advance, so you don’t just grab for anything when you are starving!
Fun Fact! Did you know that 95% of our serotonin and 50% of dopamine are produced in our ENS, aka the second brain?" Our second brain produces serotonin, dopamine, and other neurotransmitters. These are known as “feel good” chemicals, which travel to the brain to regulate our mood and help us to feel calmer and in higher spirits. The same goes for the brain, as it, too, sends information to the gut. Our stomach reacts when you feel nervous, stressed, or anxious. Do you often describe something like a “gut feeling?”
Serotonin plays a significant role with regard to gut-brain communication. For example, when we are fearful, the vagus nerve, which connects the CNS and the nerves throughout the rest of the body, stimulates serotonin production in the gut. Serotonin is known as the “feel-good hormone.” It helps us cope with nervousness or rebalance after a threat.
When we have the right amount of good bacteria in the gut, and our digestive system functions as it should, we will feel better both physically and mentally. However, when there is dysbiosis in the gut, it can negatively impact our whole person (mind, body, soul). Did you know gut issues can lead to dysbiosis in the brain? This can trigger anxiety, insomnia, irritability, depression, and panic attacks (to name a few).
Furthermore, when our digestion is compromised, we are not able to absorb nutrients properly. We can become malnourished and nutrient deficient. As you can see, digestion affects every system in our bodies. This is why it is essential to feed our bodies nourishing things, not things that will deplete us. Our food choices can be medicine to our bodies or poison to our bodies.
